Confessions of an Unknown: Original Version
by jaa162
Summary: Keri Hanson has been on the sidelines throught the Twilight novels. But now it's her turn to tell HER story. Set a year after Breaking Dawn. Read on for more info.
1. Fresh Start

**Fresh Start**

This was a bad idea from the start.

No, it was the worst idea ever.

I hated Forks, just like she did or used to anyway.

The only reason I decided to come back was because she and my dad persistently begged me too. Here I am 16-years-old climbing onto my layover to Port Angeles, which is 3 hours away from Seattle.

When I reach Port Angeles, Bella, Esme, and Alice are going to pick me up and take me back to their place for Renesmee's 1st birthday party. My dad insisted on picking me up, but then I changed my flight so I could be in Forks a few hours before the party. I was actually excited about the party since I hadn't been to one in a while.

"Hello passengers, we are now declining, so please buckle your seats and prepare for landing," the pilot announced over the intercom.

I strapped myself in, and my heart started racing with excitement. I was only 15 minutes away from seeing my best friend after several long months. I considered that my dad would be surprised and angry at me for changing my flight without telling him, but I knew he'd forgive me.

The plane descended even more until I finally saw the Port Angeles airport close up. I bounced in my seat to the annoyance of the man seated next to me. When I got off the plane, I breathed in that forest smell that is the Olympic Peninsula.

The attendant responsible for me led me through many different hallways and doors until I finally spotted them near the front desk; Alice, Esme, and my best friend.

I waved at them, and only Esme noticed and waved back. Bella turned in my direction and grinned broadly. Alice looked excited to see me too, but also slightly impatient.

I hurried over to them and hugged each of them with no hesitation. Bella whispered into my ear, "Wow. You were right. I don't feel thirsty all THAT much. It reminds me of Jacob when I first smelled him, like I smelled the blood, but there was an animal stench on it that repelled me. Interesting..."

The attendant handed over the paper for Bella to sign, stating that she was the one who was picking me up. Esme hugged me again and whispered, "Welcome home, dear. We've missed you so much." I loved Esme since she treated me like a part of the family, like I was her daughter almost as much as Bella and Alice were.

"C'mon, people. I have to finish decorating the road as well as primping Keri, here, from head to toe," Alice murmured. I enjoyed Alice since she was my go-to person for fashion advice.

Unlike Bella, I enjoyed getting makeovers, but I only dressed up if it was a special occasion. Since my mother was gone and my grandmother didn't even know the meaning of the word make-up, I knew I could count on Alice in that department.

"How do I look Alice, or rather, how will I look?" I teased. Alice scanned me, and then closed her eyes. Despite my being an unknown, I'm still human, so Alice can still see my future.

She opened her eyes and smiled at me. "You look decent now, but when I get a hold of you, you will be one of most stunning things in the room!" she replied.

Esme and Bella shook their heads at us and I started to find my luggage. "They're in the car, ready to go," Esme replied to my mental question.

I breathed in relief, as my grandmother's notebook, which was filled with different techniques for my training, was stowed away in my suitcase. I shook my head and followed them to the car.

"Where is everyone else up to?" I asked Bella.

Bella replied, "Alice put Emmett and Jasper on decorating committee, Rosalie is babysitting Nessie, Carlisle is working at the hospital for a few hours, and Edward is cooking the food." I knew that they didn't need to eat, so I wondered who the food was for.

"Seth, Jacob, and some of the people from La Push are coming as well as Charlie and Joshua," Alice said, knowingly answering my silent question. Joshua was my dad who had worked with Charlie at the police station way before Bella and I were even born.

"What's Renesmee like?" I asked once we began speeding toward Forks.

I noticed that Alice was driving, Esme was sitting up front with her, and Bella was in the backseat of the Volvo with me.

Bella grinned proudly and said, "She's amazing. She looks just like Edward, she's very intelligent, and she has us all wrapped around her little fingers."

I chuckled with her and said, "So what's up with her gift? That's sounds pretty cool, you know what she can do. I can't wait to finally meet her."

Esme smiled at me proudly and Alice replied, "Well, you know how Edward can read minds and Bella can create a shield? Well, she can do the opposite of their gifts."

I thought about it for a minute and finally got it. "So she can share her thoughts with others and penetrate shields? That's awesome!" Everyone laughed at my excitement over Renesmee. A few minutes later, exhaustion caught up with me, and I dozed off.

"Wake up! Keri, wake up! We're here!" Alice chimed in my ear. I opened my eyes abruptly and stumbled out of the car.

"You remind me of the old Bella sometimes. It's kind of strange, but at least I have someone to make fun of," said a voice behind me.

I glanced up at the steps of the gorgeous white house the Cullens owned and rubbed my eyes. Emmett was standing at the bottom of the stairs with Jasper, who waved at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him.

I felt an instant wave of calm, and wobbled over to them. Emmett scooped me up into a tight bear hug. I waved at Jasper even though I could've hugged him as well. He is not as constrained as the rest of them and has a hard time controlling his thirst, but I think he handles himself quite well.

Bella and Esme followed me as Alice grabbed my arm and led me into the house at lightning speed. She carried me upstairs into her closet. I took a deep breath and glared at Alice.

She rolled her eyes at me and went inside and came back out in a flash. In her arms was a short, silver dress. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen, and I couldn't wait to try it on.

"Thanks, Alice! It's gorgeous. I could never pull that off…" I started in. Alice cut me off. "Yes, you can, and you WILL." That was all I needed to know. Alice led me to her enormous bathroom and let down my hair. I washed and braided it the night before, so that when the time came, all I had to do was take them out to have waves.

"Thank you for saving me the trouble of putting them in myself," Alice said as she ruffled my waves. She continued on my makeup and placed silver hoops in my ears. For the finishing touch, she added silver clips in my hair to pin it back.

I barely recognized myself in the mirror. "Wow. You are unbelievable, Alice. I look like a model!" I exclaimed.

"Just how I said you would. Now go get dressed so I can get ready."

I grabbed my dress and headed to the guest room at the end of the hall. After checking to see if it was empty, I locked the door and slipped into the dress. I examined myself in the full length mirror behind the door.

I walked out into the hallway and ran into Edward, holding the most beautiful child I had ever seen. "Renesmee."

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say that I initially started out with Renesmee as the main character, so it would be a Jacob/Renesmee fic, but I felt that I just wasn't capturing her personality well enough. Plus, Keri was just too much fun to write as she became this warped extension of me in the Twilight universe. So all you Jacob/Renesmee fans out there, please don't kill me! Please Review!**


	2. Renesmee

**Author's Note: I just want to point out a few things about this fic.**

**An unknown is a human with superhuman abilities (in Keri's case, teleporting and telekinesis)**

**She has not met Jacob Black **

**She already knows about the supernatural world; in fact, she discovered it before Bella met Edward (courtesy of her grandmother)**

**I hope that I am keeping everyone in character. I read the books as I wrote this and went off my imagination. But I hope you enjoy! Here's Chapter 2!**

**Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I own Keri and Joshua Hanson.**

"Hey, Edward. This must be the infamous birthday girl," I greeted.

Edward welcomed me and nodded. Renesmee grinned at me and touched her father's face. "Yes, that's Keri. She's a good friend of ours. She came back just in time to see you."

Renesmee touched his face again, and I realized this was Renesmee's special gift they were talking about.

Edward hesitated, but asked, "She wants you. Do you want to hold her? I have to talk to Bella about something, and we'll meet you downstairs with the others."

I nodded, and reached for her at the same time she jumped into my arms. She was pretty sturdy, but I didn't mind it. I noticed she was wearing a blue sundress that complemented her milk chocolate eyes.

I carried her downstairs into the living room, and noticed how drastically it had changed from before: there were 2 buffet tables, chairs spread out along the walls, not to mention dozens of ribbons hanging from the ceiling and walls.

_It's a little over the top if you ask me, _said a child-like voice in my head. I realized that Renesmee was touching my face, and that she must have been transmitting a thought to me.

It caught me off guard for a minute, but then I composed myself. I sat down on the loveseat next to Esme and decided to get to know Renesmee before the party started.

"So do you want me to call you Nessie, too?" I asked her quietly. She touched my face and I heard a mental _Yes_.

"You have quite a gift. Very impressive. Now it's my turn to impress _you_." She stared at me with curiosity, and I knew I had to _dazzle_ her.

I winked at her and glanced over at the pile of birthday gifts stacked on a table near the front door. Alice had arranged them from biggest to smallest, so I knew my present was on top.

I focused on it, and it came gliding toward us like a bird in flight. Nessie grabbed it in midair and looked at me with pure excitement in her eyes.

_What is it?_, she asked me mentally. I shrugged and replied, "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?" Nessie hurriedly unwrapped the package and looked at me again.

"It's an E-Book, Nessie. It allows you to download and read books digitally. Good idea, Keri, since she dislikes reading the same stories over and over again," Edward answered unexpectedly. Bella was standing next to him with her arms around his waist, dressed in black jeans and a conservative navy blue top. They looked absolutely breathtaking next to each other that it made me feel sort of awkward. Nessie shook her head at her dad and smiled at me.

"Keri! The party starts in 10 minutes. You couldn't wait for another 30 minutes? So much for surprises!" Alice barked at me. She was dressed in a red and silver dress, with blue heels. On any other girl, it would look tacky, but Alice could pull it off perfectly. Rosalie rolled her eyes at Alice and waved at me.

The doorbell rang and everybody glanced at the door. "It's Charlie, Billy, Joshua and Sue. Bella, are you ready?" Alice asked hesitantly, hand already unlocking the door.

"Don't worry, I can handle it. With Keri here all this time, it's a little easier to handle. Plus, if I lose it, Jasper will know. I'm good," Bella said, annoyed.

After over a year of being a vampire, Bella hasn't killed anyone, so I think they're overdoing just a bit. "We have to take every precaution we can, Keri. You know, for everyone's safety and peace of mind," Edward said, obviously reading my thoughts.

I glared at him and rolled my eyes._ I forgot. It's okay. I forgive you, but please keep your comments to yourself,_ I begged mentally. Edward chuckled, and nodded in response. Alice opened the door, and they came shuffling through the door, along with a bunch of other bodies I vaguely recognized.

By the way Bella described them to me; I knew that the beefy ones were the guys from La Push. Nessie started bouncing in my lap and shouted, "Seth! Seth!"

From what Bella told me, Seth was the werewolf who had imprinted on Nessie when she was born. Bella and Edward genuinely liked Seth, but the situation made them uncomfortable.

Personally, I thought it was cute, and for a moment I became jealous of Nessie. When she looked my age, she'd have someone off the bat; she wouldn't have to worry about dating. I've had crushes on guys, but I've never been on a date in my life, so finding my soul mate was beyond me.

I shook the thought out of my head and looked over at Edward. He must be a better actor than I thought, because he seemed absorbed in conversation with his father-in-law.

"Happy birthday, Nessie! You get bigger every day. How old are you, 4 or 5 now?" Seth joked as he came and scooped up Nessie into his arms.

I recognized him from all the pictures Bella had sent me. Esme greeted him and a similar looking female next to him, who must be his older sister, Leah.

I stood up and Esme introduced me to them. "Oh, so you're the infamous Keri we've heard nonstop about. It's about time you're here. Nessie has been driving me crazy about finally meeting you," Seth said, jokingly.

I giggled in response and nodded. I spotted my father, who I knew would be pretty upset with me. I sauntered over to him and said, "Hi, dad. I'm sorry I changed my flight, but I wanted to be here for the party. I hope you're not mad,"

Dad sighed, and shook his head at me. "I'm not mad. Okay, maybe a little. You should've told me that you were coming early. Luckily, I already have you registered for school."

"Oh, are you going back to Winston?" Bella asked from behind me. I realized I had forgotten to tell her about my expulsion from school. I knew that she would forgive me eventually, but I couldn't tell her now, it might set her off.

"No, Bella, I'm not. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?" She stared at me as if she wanted me to continue, but she knew I wouldn't spill the beans right this second.

"Okay. We'll talk," she finally said. I turned back to my father for a hug.

"She doesn't know? You didn't tell her? Why?" my dad asked as we broke our embrace.

"Look, I forgot. But I will tell her though. I don't think she'll let me leave until I do." My dad rolled his eyes at me and left to get us some drinks.

I looked around the room to for Sue or Charlie, but then I locked eyes with a stranger across the room. He stared at me for a long time, and I noticed he was very good-looking and had russet colored skin and dark brown eyes.

I looked away in embarrassment, and then, someone grabbed me and carried into the kitchen. Once, I caught my breath, I realized it was Bella, with Edward following behind her, trying to contain himself from cracking up.

"Why, oh why, of all people, it had to be you? I finally convinced you to come back after all this time, and he thinks he can have some moronic wolfy claim to you? I don't think so," Bella barked, angrily.

Edward placed his hands on her shoulders as if to restrain her and Jasper was in the room almost immediately. "Bella, love, calm down. Control yourself. We have guests, not to mention it's our daughter's birthday. She wouldn't want you to lose your temper. Besides, it's not like he can control it. If it happens, it happens. We didn't like it when Seth did it, but he did, and we came around," Edward soothed to Bella.

His attempt to calm her only ignited the fire further. "Where is he? Better yet, let's hide her. If he can't get to her, than what's the point?" Bella said, staring at me.

I just wanted to understand what was happening. _Who were they talking about? What couldn't he control?_ "Bella, I don't know what's going on, but Edward's right. You need to get a grip. I'm back home and its Nessie's birthday. How about I stay with you the whole night? If Edward tells whoever it is, to back off, then we won't have a problem," I offered.

Edward agreed, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. "Alright. I'll control myself. Keri don't leave my side, and Jasper stay close. Edward keep him away from her, please," Bella said, defeated.

Cleary, she wanted to rip someone's head off, but my plan kept her restrained even if only temporarily. Alice and Esme brought the cake out when we returned, and Seth and I helped Nessie blow out her candle.

Then, it was time to open her gifts: a portable DVD player from Rosalie and Emmett, several new dresses, all in the color blue, from Alice, a gift card for online shopping from Jasper, a beautiful handmade headband from Esme, a packet of donated blood from Carlisle(Emmett enjoyed that one), a playground near the house from the La Push gang, a charm for her bracelet from Seth(her Quileute bracelet is a version of a promise ring, I learned), a redesign of her room from Bella, Edward, Sue, and Charlie, and finally an E-Book from me.

"Wow, Nessie. You really got it made," Seth said to her. Bella hovered nearby and jerked her head towards the window. Edward was gone and back again in mere seconds, and placed a car key in my hand. "What is this?" I asked. "It's your homecoming present," Edward answered, proudly.

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say that this is an JacobxOC fic so I changed Nessie's imprinter to Seth, so there could still be peace between the wolves and the Cullens, in case there was any confusion on that part. Please Review!**


	3. Forcefield

I ran outside the house to find a brand-new black Mercedes C700 waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed.

"It was my and Nessie's idea. I mean, you have nothing to drive around in, so after some negotiations, we got the car for you. You always said you wanted a Mercedes," my dad said, confidently.

_I know you guys bought the car, don't deny it, Edward,_ I said mentally. Edward nodded, and murmured something unintelligible to Bella. "Well, it's the least we could do; after all you've done for us. We wanted to do something nice for you as well," Bella said.

Tears started to form in my eyes and I heard Alice groan from the stairs. "Don't get too emotional, or you're going to ruin your makeup!" she said to me.

I nodded and clicked the remote. The car sprang to life and I climbed into the driver's seat. The interior had that new car smell that I loved, as well as leather seats and tinted windows. Then, a thought occurred to me.

I glanced at Edward again and asked mentally,_ does this car have body armor, too? Because this is a bad joke that you're trying to tell_. Edward whispered to the Cullens, who all cracked up except for Bella. Bella's mouth twitched slightly, but she shook her head at me.

I breathed in relief. The last thing I need is for Emmett to be making cracks about my vulnerability too. I climbed out of the car and thanked everyone for my present. Nessie held out her arms to me and I held her.

She touched my face and said,_ you're welcome. I wanted to do something nice for you, since you sent me that headband. I love my gifts. Thank you very much. Are you coming back tomorrow?_ I nodded, and she flashed me her perfect smile.

"We'd better get going, it's getting late, and I have to take several people home," said Charlie. Sue hugged me good-night and made me promise to come to dinner tomorrow night.

Billy shook my hand and said, "Welcome back." Leah and her cousin, Emily, left with them, and some of the La Push guys headed towards the woods.

I guess they were going to go home the werewolf way. I noticed that Nessie had fallen asleep in my arms and Bella took her from me.

"I want to show you something, and then we'll talk, we'll ALL talk," Bella announced. I noticed that my dad had stayed and so did Seth and the big, handsome stranger from earlier.

I agreed and blinked inside the house, to the astonishment of everyone, except my dad and Bella, who were used to it.

Bella came inside and held Nessie's hand to my face. Millions of colors and many faces filled my brain as I watched Nessie's dreams. I noticed that my face, Bella, Edward, Seth, and the stranger's seemed to be the most prominent.

I moved away and said, "That's amazing. Do you do that a lot, watch her dreams I mean." Bella rolled her eyes at me and handed Nessie to Rosalie, who departed upstairs. I knew that Bella and Edward stayed in the cottage nearby, but I knew they wouldn't depart until Bella got what she needed to off of her chest.

I sat down on the couch with Esme on my right and my dad on my left. "Why aren't you going to Winston? You loved it there! What happened?" Bella barked.

I took a deep breath and began, "Well, I lied. I hated it there. All the girls were superficial, they had too many rules, and we weren't allowed to have computers in our rooms. I only went because I knew you wanted me to go to get me safely out of town when the vampires came. So I did. After a while, I became bored, so I started using my powers. Discreetly. One day, my roommate caught me cleaning our room mentally, and promised to keep her mouth shut in exchange for my doing whatever she asked. Not only did I have to do her homework, I had to do her friends' homework, and submit myself to horrible pranks she pulled on me, like locking me in the shower room all night or dumping garbage on me in the middle of the hallway. Soon, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to get myself in trouble. I planted a ketchup bomb in the principal's office and set it off from outside. I made sure I was the known culprit and she expelled me from the school."

Emmett high-fived me and Esme glared at him. Bella was stunned in a twisted combination of amusement and laughter. Edward's face was solemn when I recalled the garbage experience.

"Is that why you went to Texas? You were mad at me?" Bella asked quietly.

"No, Bella. I sent her there as punishment for what she did. I knew the best thing I could do to punish a teenager was to send her to a place of nothing but hot weather and boredom. She came to her senses, and apologized for her behavior. She promised me that she wouldn't use her abilities so freely like that ever again," dad finished for me.

He was right, too. As much as I loved my aunt and uncle, I hated Isa, Texas with a raw passion. Edward started laughing as I recalled some of my memories from my time there: staring out the window, cleaning out the barn in 100 degree weather, and chasing my cousin, Robert, around the house.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It slipped my mind with everything going on. I'm not going anywhere this time. I promise," I said, confidently to her. Bella hugged me and nodded as if to show she had forgiven me. I noticed the stranger staring at me again, and he smiled a dazzling smile at me.

Strangely, I felt butterflies in my stomach, and smiled back, weakly. Edward noticed our exchange and mumbled something under his breath.

Soon, I was out of Bella's arms and into Esme's. "You _stupid mutt_! How _could _you? She's my _sister_!" Bella yelled. The stranger started backing out of the front door, half-running down the stairs.

I was just surprised Bella had called me her _sister_, but I guess it was to show how close we are. I glanced at Esme, who was still holding me firmly as if to hold me back.

Esme and my dad walked with me to the top of the stairs so I could get a glimpse of what was going on that somehow involved me.

"She just got here, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim to her?" Bella yelled even louder. I'm sure half of Forks could've heard her.

"It wasn't my idea, Bella! I can share," the handsome stranger said pleadingly as he retreated across the lawn.

"Pay up," Emmett said to Alice and Edward. I rolled my eyes at them.

"How dare you _imprint_ on _my _sister! Have you lost your mind?" Then he wasn't alone. Two huge wolves appeared at his side, flanking him on either side.

A fearsome snarl ripped from Bella's mouth and it terrified me so much that I started trembling. I'd never seen her like this, but now that I understood what had happened, I was torn; I didn't want her to hurt him, but then I did.

Why me? I had never met this guy in my life and yet all of sudden, I'm his _soul mate_? It just didn't make sense. "It was involuntary! Would you try to listen for just a second? Please?" he begged.

"Why should I listen?" Bella hissed.

"Because I've been hurting for over a year now. The least you can do is hear me out. Do you remember when you said that we belonged in each other's lives? That we were family. You said that's how we were supposed to be. So…now we are. It's what you wanted."

"You think you'll be a part of my family as my _brother-in-law_!"

Emmett and Alice laughed. My mouth twitched a little, since Bella was still referring to me as her sister. _He thinks he's going to marry me? _Okay, now this is getting weird. Edward snickered a little at my thoughts.

"Stop her, Edward. She'll be unhappy if she hurts him," Esme murmured, but Edward didn't move a muscle.

"Well, I don't know, Bella. I haven't thought of it that far. You wouldn't even let me talk to her all night! What about her, huh? What about Keri? It's her choice, whatever she needs me to be." I felt myself blush as my dad groaned over what the boy said about my choice.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Edward murmured.

"She hasn't even gone for his throat once," Carlisle agreed, stunned.

"Fine, you win this one," Emmett said grudgingly to Alice.

"You're going to stay away from her, starting _now_," Bella hissed.

"Why doesn't she just cream Jacob already," Emmett grumbled.

_Jacob! Jacob Black? The werewolf!_, I screamed in my head. Edward seemed taken aback by my mental screaming, but nodded at me. I huffed and poked out my lip. _Why did I have to get the werewolf soul mate?_, I thought to myself.

Jacob continued, "It's not possible. Don't you want to know why I had been hanging around here all day? It's because of her. When you brought her here, she was pulling me here. I didn't understand why I wanted to be here so bad, but now I do. That was her. We had to be together."

What? This is weird. I kind of understand why he imprinted on me, and why I felt the need to stay here, but he loves Bella! He still does, she told me. He just knew that she had chosen Edward, and he just had to accept it.

"Run while you still can," Bella threatened.

"I can't and I won't. You know that," Jacob said, terrified.

Bella lunged for him just as I screamed, "_No_!" to surprised ears, even mine. Bella ignored my plea and tried to make her way to him, but oddly, something prevented her from getting to him.

She tried several times, but to no avail. "What's going on?" she yelled. My eyes were locked on Jacob's stunned face as he realized Bella couldn't attack him.

"Keri, are you doing that?" Edward asked, surprised.

"Doing what?" I asked back, never breaking my gaze to Jacob.

"Preventing Bella from attacking Jacob. Are you creating a shield?" he asked.

I turned my attention toward Edward with curiosity. Then, we all turned at the sound of a deafening crack.

xxx

"Seth, I am so sorry. Really. I am. Please forgive me," Bella begged as Carlisle secured the brace on Seth's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. At least you didn't bite me, that would've really sucked," Seth replied. He winced when Carlisle secured the brace on.

I went to sit beside him and apologized too. "What for? You didn't do anything. Well, except for keeping Jacob out of Bella's wrath. That was pretty cool. How'd you do it?" Seth asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. Edward answered for me instead. "Well, when Keri discovered that Jacob imprinted on her, she didn't want him to get hurt, or at least part of her didn't." Edward chuckled at my thought and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

He continued, "When she knew that Bella was going to rip Jacob to pieces, she focused her attention on him and secretly begged Bella not to do it. Therefore, when Bella tried to attack Jacob, she couldn't because Keri's shield prevented her from doing so. It's like Bella's shield, only it prevents physical attacks. It's pretty impressive, since she didn't even know she was doing it."

Emmett said, "Wow. That's cool. We could've used you several months ago."

Everyone threw Emmett an annoyed glance. "It's like a force field. That is interesting," Carlisle agreed.

My dad explained, "This is very interesting. You see, it is very rare for an unknown to have more than one ability. My mother also had a force field, she could morph her body into anyone she chose, and she had the ability to control the 4 elements as well. I hoped that Keri here would have only one ability when she came into puberty, but it seems like we have another prodigy in the family."

"What? Dad, I don't know if I can control the elements. I just learned that I can create a shield. Even Grandma said that it requires many years of training and a lot of strength to be able to do something so complicated," I bantered.

No one seemed convinced. "Have you ever tried? Maybe if you tried you could do it," Jacob said to me quietly from hallway stairs.

By my and Edward's warning, we asked if he could keep a reasonable distance away from me as I absorbed this new information and Bella got over her temper tantrum.

Bella huffed a possible profanity under her breath. I think she's just overwhelmed with anger right now; she's mad at Jacob for imprinting on me even though it was involuntary, she's a little mad at me for preventing her from hurting him, and she's mad that she can't be mad at either of us for all that we've done for her.

Edward nodded in agreement with me, and I yawned. I really wasn't tired, from all that had happened today, I wasn't tired in the least. It was just all I had to take in, so I was just mentally drained.

"C'mon, Keri. Let's call it a night. You must be exhausted," my dad said.

I nodded and waved at everyone as I followed him out of the door. Jacob winked at me as I left. Somehow, I knew I wouldn't see the last of him tonight. I handed over the keys to my dad, and asked him to open the trunk. Inside, there was my luggage as well as some extra bags.

_Alice_. I shook my head and climbed into the passenger seat. I took one last glance at the house and noticed Jacob staring out the window, eyes locked on me. I shivered and turned away as we drove off.

"Home sweet home. It's nice to have you back, Keri," my dad said as we pulled in the driveway.

I nodded and grabbed my suitcase out of the trunk. I would get the rest later, but now I needed to sleep. Our house, which was two stories with a basement and attic, still looked the same as when I left it.

Inside, nothing had moved since I'd been there. I sauntered up to my room at the end of the hall. There were a guest room with its own bathroom, my dad's office, a hallway bathroom, my dad's room, and finally my room, which also had its own bathroom.

Before I left for Winston, Bella and I had redecorated it together. The walls, which were once a pale brownish color, were now a deep shade of lavender. There was an ornamental rug in the center, which complemented my desk near the window. My closet was right next to my bathroom, which made it easier on me during the morning.

My full-sized bed was at the west end of the room, with a purple blanket that matched the walls. I put my suitcase in the closet and found some pajamas. I slipped into a large shirt and pajama bottoms, and tied up my hair. Finally, I eased into the bed to that fresh washed smell that I loved my sheets to have. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes…

"You can't escape me you know. I need you. I will hunt you down until I find you," a dark voice spoke to me as I ran down a never-ending hallway. "Leave me alone! I can fight you! I'll save them and you will have nothing over me!" I yelled in response, angrily. "Really now? Why don't you turn around?" the voice teased. I did and saw Jacob unconscious on a table, about to be bitten by a vampire…..

**Author's Note: So this chapter was inspired by my favorite chapter of **_**Breaking Dawn**_**, in which Bella finds out that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. I thought it was hilarious and decided to use it for my story. The next chapter will contain Keri/Jacob fluff. Please Review**!


	4. First Date

**First Date**

A light tap on the window woke me from my dream, and I rubbed my eyes. I had never had a dream like that before, and I confused me that I was terrified to see Jacob in danger.

I shook off the feeling and went to the bathroom for some water. I figured the tap was just a branch since our house is practically in the woods, but then I heard it again and again.

"Pssst! Pssst! Keri! Open up! C'mon Keri! It's me, Jacob," I heard a voice whisper from outside.

I dropped the glass mug on my foot, and stopped breathing for a second. _Is he crazy? Coming to my house in the wee hours of the night? _I guess he wants to explain this whole "imprinting" thing. I don't think I'm ready to hear it just yet, but I knew that I owed him since I'm the reason he almost got his head ripped off.

I sighed, and let down my hair and wiped my face. Even though I was still weirded out by the situation, Jacob was still hot, so I wanted to look somewhat decent even if I was only dressed in my pajamas.

I took a deep breath, and walked over to the window. Sure enough, Jacob was standing under it. He smiled at me, and the butterflies fluttered around in my stomach again.

"Stand back, I'm coming up," he warned. I wondered how he could get inside since he was wearing nothing but cutoff jeans. He had a very nicely buffed-out body, and I realized that I had been staring at him. I moved away from the window as he had asked, and in the next minute, he landed in room with a soft thud.

I shook my head at him, and whispered, "What do you want?"

He smiled and replied, "Edward told me that you were taken aback by this imprinting thing, so I wanted to explain it to you myself since I couldn't do that at the party."

I sat on the edge of the bed and allowed him to continue. "I know that you know that I'm a part of Quileute tribe, which is how I inherited the werewolf gene. Well, every since the whole werewolf thing came about, werewolves can imprint on someone who is considered to be their "other half" or soul mate. Sam, the leader of the other wolf pack, thinks it is because we find the person who has the best chance of carrying on the gene. But I don't want to get into the mystical, science part of it. I want you to understand that what I feel for you will never go away. When I saw you for the first time, it was like everything that was a part of my world vanished, and you became the only thing that kept me here, like a million cables that connect me to everything in my life were cut, and a million more cables connected me to you. It's like love at first sight, only more definite. Look, I understand that this is a lot to take in after only 1 day. I'll be here for you whenever you need me to be, and I want to be here for you. If you just let me be, I can."

I was frozen into astonishment. It was the most romantic thing I had ever heard in my life. I felt as if I was in some kind of soap opera, but it still moved me. I wasn't sure what to say after that, all I knew is what I had (and wanted) to do.

I stood up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I could feel his piercing hot body against mine, and since I was used to the stone-cold touch of vampires, his warm touch was foreign to me.

I welcomed it anyway, until we had to break our embrace since I started sweating from the heat. He laughed as he wiped my forehead. "Sorry. I'm just used to being around the Cullens or the pack that I forgot how a human must react to my high temperature."

I laughed with him and asked, "So, what now? I mean, I understand how you feel about me, but I just met you, Jacob. I think we should take it as slowly as possible, because well, to be honest, I've never been in a relationship before and neither have you. I already like you, so you don't have to worry about that. I just want to see how this turns out for me."

Jacob nodded and said, "If that's what you want, then it's okay with me. What about Bella and your dad?"

"Bella will get over it, eventually. That I know. My dad will be annoyed with you for a while, since he heard everything you said, but after some time, he'll get used to it. He wants me to be happy, but then, Bella mentioned marriage, so that kind of nipped it in the bud."

Jacob and I chuckled and he said, "I didn't know she was going to bring that up, honestly. All I want is for you to be happy with me. Whatever it takes. Marriage wasn't even on my radar. I just wanted to get to know you, and maybe in the future, it could up for consideration, if you wanted."

"Maybe, but we just met, so let's focus on that first. There's so many questions I want to ask, and I'm sure you want to ask me some too. Since Bella has already spilled most of the beans, you can start."

He seemed uncertain about what to say, but after some time, he asked, "Okay, then, what is an unknown? I remember everyone calling you that, and when you disappeared and then reappeared into the house, I became even more confused. You are still human, right?"

"Yes, like you, I am human, but with superhuman abilities. I can teleport, or as I call it blinking, since I can go anywhere I want in the blink of an eye. The only catch is that I can only go to a place I've been before. I am also telekinetic, which means I can move objects with my mind. You should've seen Nessie's face when I transported her birthday present from across the living room."

Jacob smirked and bit his lip. I decided that he probably wanted a demonstration as proof, so I sighed and focused on my toothbrush. It came gliding into the room and landed on Jacob's lap. He jumped, clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of the object, and looked at me intently.

I shrugged and he chuckled at his overreaction. "I guess it takes some getting used to huh? That's kind of cool and weird at the same time. I guess you never have to worry about doing chores, then?" he joked.

I giggled and replied, "No, not really. It takes a lot of energy to do that, so I can't move heavy objects, like cars or _werewolves_, for instance."

Jacob laughed at my lame joke and sat down on the bed next to me, only this time he inched closer so that I could feel the heat coming off of his body. "Well, what about that shield thing? That _force field_, as Carlisle called it. You didn't know that you were protecting me? Really?"

I was getting kind of frustrated with the questions, but he wanted know, so I replied, "No, I didn't. My grandmother could do it, so I must have inherited it from her. Like Edward said, I didn't want Bella to hurt you too bad, so I unintentionally created the shield around you. You lucky duck, you might've ended up like poor Seth if I hadn't interceded on your behalf."

I laughed at the thought that someone as big as Jacob had almost ended up getting his butt kicked by a girl, only to have another girl protect him.

Jacob frowned at my finding the situation funny and said, "Well, I'm out of questions, so it's your turn."

I asked, "What's it like being a werewolf? I mean, in your wolf form. Bella mentioned the fact that you can hear each other's thoughts, you can kill vampires, and you can run as fast as a vampire can. I already know about the imprinting thing from experience, so what's left?"

Jacob huffed in annoyance; I guessed there's not much to tell since I already know the basics. "Well, when I'm a wolf, it's like I'm not me, my instincts take over. I can eat wild animals, and not suffer from human emotion. The downside is the fact that all of our minds are connected, so whatever I'm thinking about or whatever I saw, everyone else in the pack has to relive it or think it. The only exception is Sam. We have 2 wolf packs now, mine and his. Since we're the Alphas, we can share thoughts with each other, but only the ones we want to share, so it's like speaking aloud. I also heal fast, depending on the injury and whether I'm in my human form or not." I contemplated on that for a moment.

"Also, I don't age. I mean, I will age eventually, when I stop phasing for a long period of time, but it takes a lot of self-restraint and control to do that. So technically, I'm seventeen years old, but physically look around 25. That must suck, since you have to grow old."

I shook my head, and he raised an eyebrow. "No. That's another part of being an unknown. When I turn 18, my body's aging will drastically decrease. I'll age ¼ of that of a normal human. So I'll still look 18 even when I'm in my 30s. Even though my dad didn't inherit the abilities that I have, he still got everything else, including the blood aversion and the decreased aging, so he's actually about 50 years old. My grandmother died at age 297."

Jacob's eyes grew wide in horror, and I immediately understood what he was implying. "No, you see, when the vampire James came after Bella, my grandmother disguised herself as Bella to help the Cullens create a false trail so she could hide. Then, Victoria found out, and he killed her before he went off to find Bella."

Jacob's eyes softened when I finished, and he put his arms around me and wiped away the tears from my face. I hadn't even realized I'd been crying the past 2 minutes. I composed myself and Jacob joked, "That's amazing what you can dad looks to be about 35!"

I nudged him in the stomach and backed away. He frowned in response and glanced around the room in thought. Then, a smile spread across his beautiful face and he grabbed my hand and led me towards the window.

"Let's go for a walk. _My Way_." He grinned at me and I looked back in confusion. He motioned for me to climb on his back, which I did, and he attempted to jump down just as I blinked outside.

He shook his head at me and I smiled back, teasingly. He took my hand and intertwined it with his as we walked into the woods. We stopped abruptly and he said, "Wait here. Don't move. I'll be right back." Jacob took off deeper into the woods and I stood there motionless.

I felt like one of the girls in the horror movies, who always get abandoned by the boyfriend before the killer comes. I took several deep breaths, and noticed a huge russet-colored wolf coming towards me.

I wanted to turn around running and screaming, but something kept me where I stood. The wolf stopped about 2 feet in front of me, and looked at me with familiar black eyes. I stared back, with fascination and wonder on my face. The wolf's muzzle fell open, and his tongue rolled out to form a wolfy grin

. _This is Jacob, alright. _I thought to myself. He must be trying not to frighten me, and my thought process changed. To me, it wasn't really a wolf, just Jacob in his wolf form, which it was.

I laughed and kissed his nose. Jacob dropped down on his front legs, so that his face was level with mine. "Jacob?" I asked, just to be sure.

The answering rumble in his chest sounded like a chuckle. I reached my hand out, but hesitated an inch from his face. He bobbed his head, as if he wanted me to continue, and I stroked the side of his face. His fur was shaggy, but also soft and rough.

"You know, I always wanted a dog," I teased.

He rolled his enormous eyeball in response, and then licked me on my face. "Eww! Gross!" I yelled with laughter.

He coughed a bark that was obviously laughter as well. I wiped my face with my arm, which I wiped on his shoulder. He sighed, and jerked his head back.

I took that to mean,_ Hop on_, which I attempted to do. Since he was so big, I couldn't get a grip on him and fell flat on my back. "I'm okay, really," I said to soothe him.

He nodded, and jerked his head again. This time, I blinked on his back, and soon we were moving through the forest at blazing speed. I rather enjoyed the wind, but the motion made me feel uneasy.

I realized I was getting rather sleepy, and yawned in response. I didn't think Jacob would notice, but he must have sharper ears than I thought, because a few minutes later, I spotted my house a short distance ahead of us.

Jacob stopped unexpectedly and nearly threw me off of his back. I huffed and blinked in front of his face. He gave me a stern look as if to say, _Go back to sleep. You need to rest._

I shook my head and asked, "Only if you promise to come back." He nodded and pushed me towards the house.

"Okay! Okay!" I blinked inside my room, and checked to see if my dad had noticed my absence.

He was still sleeping soundly in his room, and I walked back into my room to find Jacob climbing through the window once again, in his human form.

"How was it?" he asked.

"It was pretty cool, but it was not a smooth ride. I think I got motion sickness," I replied and pretended to barf to tease him.

He smirked and said, "Well, I'll work on that. You look exhausted. Come on go to sleep before you pass out."

I went to the bathroom to brush the dirt off of my hair and body, and I noticed Jacob checking me out. It made me uneasy but strangely satisfied since he didn't looked repulsed by my appearance. Rather, he looked just the opposite.

I climbed into the bed and he laid next to me. It was weird how calm and yet uncomfortable I felt with his body so close to mine. I tucked myself underneath the covers to create a physical barrier between us.

Jacob sighed and wrapped his huge, warm arm around me. "Jacob, I don't mind you being here, but you need to be gone by the time my dad wakes up, or you will not be able to come near me with a 50 foot pole. You got that?"

Jacob stifled a laugh at the possible thought that anybody could separate us, but answered back, "Don't worry, I will. I'm just going to stay here until you fall asleep, and when you wake up, I'll be gone. I'll be back for breakfast, though, since I heard your dad makes excellent French toast." I shook my head and surrendered to sleep much quicker than I thought….

True to his word, Jacob was gone when my dad came bursting into my room and kissed me on my forehead. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. How'd you sleep last night?"

I rubbed my eyes and smiled weakly. "Well, I'm making breakfast before I have to go to the station, so hurry up and get dressed." I nodded and laid back down on the bed when he left.

I sighed as my thoughts aligned themselves in my head. In the past 24 hours, I went from Texas to Washington, reunited with my best friend, learned that I can create a force field and got imprinted on by a gorgeous teenage wolf-man.

School hasn't even started yet, since today was Saturday, and school started again on Tuesday. I wasn't sure if Jacob would show up like he said he would, but I was determined to warn my father of his possible appearance before he slammed the door in Jacob's face. I walked over to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth.

I let my hair down, surprisingly the waves stayed put, and threw on some tan capris with a light brown shirt and matching ballet flats. I re-checked myself in the mirror and went downstairs to find my father flipping pancakes with the oldies station turned on.

I giggled as I watched my father sing along to the song that was playing. "Good morning to you too, Dad," I laughed.

He stuck his tongue out at me and flipped one of the pancakes over again. I walked over to the microwave and saw bacon, eggs, and (of course!) French toast. I knew Dad had made the pancakes for me since I distinctly hated French toast.

I made a plate of food, excluding the toast, and sat down at the round table at the far end of the kitchen. I meddled with my fork as I figured out a way to explain Jacob possibly coming over. Dad flipped another pancake over and hummed to himself.

I took a deep breath and said, "Dad, um, why do you have to work today?"

"I have some paperwork to catch up on, plus I'm training some new guys. I'll be home around 7, and then, we'll go over Charlie's for pizza. What are your plans for today? I know you're going over to the Cullens, don't deny it. It's about 10, so I know you must have something planned."

"Dad, I want to talk to you about something. Something important to me. We have to do it before he comes." Dad lowered the volume of the radio and handed me my pancakes.

He sighed, and nodded for me to continue. "What who is this he you're talking about?" Oops. That one slipped, but I knew I could make do with the time I had before Jacob arrived.

"Jacob Black is the he I was referring to. I know this imprinting thing is strange for you, as well as me, but I want you to know that I really like Jacob, and well, he likes me too. I'm going to be eighteen next year, and if Jacob hadn't come along, then who knows who I'd end up with? I'm just saying that I want your permission to see Jacob. I will abide to any punishment or rules you may enforce, but you cannot forbid me to see him, under any circumstance. That is all I want. You need to give an answer within the next few seconds, because I invited him over for breakfast."

Dad stared at me with an expression he never had before: laughter. Dad shook his head at me and sat down at the table facing me.

"Look, Keri, I was upset last night, I'll give you that, but the last thing I want in this world is my only daughter to be unhappy because of me. Actually, I already knew what had happened because Billy and Sam explained it to me. Then, I saw Sam and Emily together, and I knew that I couldn't keep you from experiencing that. Jacob could not stay away from you, and after what you did last night, I knew I would not be able to keep you from him, either. I noticed how you were looking at him last night at the party."

I blushed in embarrassment, and my dad held my hand. "Keri, I just want you to be happy. You have a very long life ahead of you, so the last thing I want is for you to be alone. Your mother was human, so now I have to live with that for the rest of my…existence. I never wanted you to go through what I went through, but this imprinting thing kind of let you off the hook, huh? Jacob can't age, well as of right now, and your aging will start to decrease after a while. Plus, he's your soul mate. How can I keep my daughter from her "other half"? You guys really go good together, I know, I knew he was in your room last night."

My mouth fell open, and I stared back in astonishment. Oh, great! I knew I felt like he was watching us, but I didn't want to scare Jacob away, or have my dad kick him out, so I kept my mouth shut.

My dad closed my mouth and nodded. "I might not have the abilities you have, but I do have supersonic hearing. Keri, I don't mind if he's over here, but there are a few conditions you have to follow since you're still a teenager. First, you must always be in the presence of adult supervision unless you are at a public place. Second, if he is in your room and vice versa, the door must always be ajar, never locked. Third, you must be home by 11 p.m. on weekends, and 9:30 during the week. Finally, I want you to call if there is a change in plans or a possible emergency. Here"

I nodded in agreement to his rules and grabbed the box from his hand. I opened to find a brand-new Sidekick inside.

I squealed with joy, and pecked him on the cheek. "I, Keri Hanson, promise to follow all of Joshua Hanson's rules right down to the letter, as long as he allows me to see Jacob Black on a regular basis, grounded or otherwise."

I held my hand over my heart as I made my declaration and Dad just shook his head at me and nodded. I squealed some more, like a little kid who got all she wanted for Christmas.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and my whole body relaxed. This whole time I figured that my dad and I were going to erupt into a giant screaming match, but he let me off the hook so easily, it took me off guard. I skipped to the front door and peeked through the hole.

Sure enough, it was Jacob, dressed in a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Hey, Jacob! Nice to see you here!" I said sarcastically.

He grinned back and scooped me up in a tight hug. "Can't breathe!" I huffed, and he set me down, laughing.

He followed me into the kitchen and I handed him a plate. He was still smiling at me, and somehow, his happiness radiated off of him over to me. I blushed again, and smiled back in response.

I joined my dad at the table, and he was almost finished with his food. I poured syrup on my pancakes, and Jacob planted himself right beside me. I guess from another person's view, we looked pretty hilarious with gigantic Jacob, pint-sized me, and my average built dad at the round table in the far corner of the kitchen.

Jacob glanced at me between bites and furrowed his eyebrow when he noticed my plate. "You don't like French toast?" Jacob asked.

I shook my head and tapped my father on his toe with my foot. The reason behind my hated for French toast was a rather embarrassing story, and I didn't want my dad to share it with Jacob.

Dad smirked at me, and started in, "No, she doesn't."

I thought he was going to leave it there, but then he continued, "You see, Jacob, when Keri was 6, her school held this international fair, and Keri ended up with France as her country. So she decided to make French toast from scratch by herself. That was a bad idea, since she accidentally put a laxative in the bread instead of cream. In the end, half of the school ended up in the bathrooms all day long, and Keri didn't come out too good herself."

"DAD! DID YOU HAVE TO TELL HIM THAT! I WAS SIX, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I NEVER EVEN GOT MY EASY-BAKE OVEN TO WORK!" I yelled in utter humiliation.

Jacob and my dad just were cracking up, not only at the story, but also at me. I mumbled under my breath and stomped toward the sink with my half-full plate.

I dumped the food in the garbage and shoved the plate in the dishwasher. "C'mon Keri! I'm sorry. He would've found out sooner or later. Charlie was messed up for a week," Dad apologized.

I accepted his apology and said, "Don't you have to be somewhere, like your JOB?"

Dad shook his head and shot back, "Not until you leave first. What are your plans for today, exactly?"

I sighed and glared at Jacob. Jacob smiled back and answered, "We're going to meet up with some friends of mine in La Push, maybe take a walk on the beach or something."

Dad considered this for a moment and agreed, I guess to get me out of the house on a Saturday. I sighed and agreed, "That's the game plan. I'm also going to stop by the Cullens for a while, you know to visit Nessie. She made me promise to come over today."

Dad said, "Alright," and went upstairs to change into his uniform. I pulled out my Sidekick and programmed the emergency numbers on the fridge into my phone, along with Bella's and Charlie's.

Jacob put his plate in the sink and took the phone from my hands. I reached for it back, but he blocked me easily with his long muscular arm. He gave it back to me, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "Now you have my number, so we can talk all night long like normal teenage couples do," he said.

"Yes, we're both human, but neither one of us is what is considered as normal," I shot back.

He knew that I must still be mad, which I was, but I think he knew that I wouldn't stay mad. He sighed, and said, "Let's go, Keri. We've got places to go and people to see. Please, Emily has been bugging Sam, who has been bugging me, to see you."

I remembered Emily, Sam's new wife, from the party. "Bye, Dad. See you later!" I yelled as I followed Jacob out of the door.

Once we were outside, I noticed that there wasn't another vehicle there. "How did you get here?" I asked.

"I ran. The Rabbit needs a new fuel pump, and I've been so distracted lately that I haven't gotten around to getting a new one. Plus, if I rode the motorcycle here, that would've automatically put me on your dad's bad side, since I was in a "motorcycle accident" last year. So I figured if I ran, you could just drive me back home," Jacob answered knowingly.

I reached into my left pocket and pulled out the key to my car and dropped it in his hand. He smiled broadly and was at the passenger side in 5 long strides. He opened the door for me, and I stuck my tongue out at him as I slid inside.

He came around the front and hopped in the car. I wasn't sure if he was happy because of me or the car, or possibly both. A few minutes later, we were in La Push and he parked the car right in front of the red barn-looking building that was his home. I had only been to Jacob's house once during a football match with Billy, Charlie, Dad, Harry Clearwater.

I shook the memory out of my brain and focused on the moment at hand. Jacob opened the door for me before I even had the chance to unbuckle the seat belt. "Why are you being so chivalrous all of a sudden?" I asked curiously.

I wasn't annoyed by it as Bella probably would've been; actually I appreciated all of his effort. I just wanted to know why it was necessary.

"Because we are officially on a date," Jacob answered confidently.

"A date? I thought we were just going to hang out on the beach."

"That is considered as a date. Two people getting to know each other, a date."

I sighed. I had actually given it some thought myself. I guess it did count since we were alone in a public place. We walked to the beach in silence, Jacob matching his pace with mine.

There were still some unresolved issues that I wanted to address, but I was afraid that it might upset him or even me, for that matter, if I brought it up, but I needed to know while I had the chance.

"Jacob, can I ask you something? It's kind of personal, and I hope you don't take it the wrong way, but I really want to know."

He held me hand and intwined it with his, like he did last night. "Go ahead."

"Are you still in love with Bella?"

He stopped for a moment, caught his breath, and continued walking. "Not like I did before. I do love her, but like a sister or friend. My feelings for you made those feelings for her evaporate, like they were there at one point, but now they have turned into something else. It is weird for you, since you're dating someone you're best friend was once in love with?"

I kicked a rock guiltily and sighed. "Actually, that's why I freaked out at first. I was always jealous of Bella, how she had dated no one until she got here, and then she had two guys fighting over her. When she married Edward, she always told me how she thought of whom we were going to be with, but I guess she got her answer last night."

He pondered over my answer and squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry about that. I wish I could have more of a choice about this, but I don't. Before, I was upset that most of my brothers had found their perfect match, and here I was pining over a married vampire. I had very little hope that I would find somebody, but then you came along and changed everything for me."

"So if you did have a choice, would you still have chosen me?"

"If I got the chance to know you better, then yes, I would."

I smiled at him, and he flashed a grin back at me. He picked up a rock and threw it about ten paces into the ocean. I tried to follow suit, but my rock landed a few inches from me.

Jacob and I laughed, and continued walking until we stopped near an old fallen tree bark. I remember Bella showed me this spot last year and called it her and Jacob's special spot.

I felt like I was trespassing, but Jacob sat down and patted the spot next to him. I figured it was okay since he had allowed me to sit with him.

"So, um, maybe we should talk about something else besides the nonsupernatural part of ourselves? Like, what about lives or something? What about your parents? You live with your dad right? What about your mom?" Jacob asked slowly.

I deliberated for a moment; my mom was a sensitive subject with me. I really didn't want to talk about it, but he asked so I replied, "My mother died after I was born. Something that had to do with her blood pressure. My dad became an emotional wreck afterwards, and so my grandmother took care of me while my dad tried to move past his grief. When I was older, about 7 or 8, my dad told me about my mom. I didn't cry but it made me very sad for a while. I still get sad about from time to time."

I noticed Jacob staring at the horizon as I spoke. "I lost my mom, too. When I was younger, she died in a car accident. My family, my dad, sisters and I were upset about it but after a while, it didn't really bother me all that much. I guess we have something in common, huh?"

I deliberated that for a second. He took my hand and held it to his face and closed his eyes, as if he were absorbing the touch of my hand. He moved it to his chest, and I felt the steady beating of his heart. He opened his eyes and looked at me as I did at him.

He seemed as if he wanted to kiss me, but I decided to distract him. "So, what about your friends? What are they like?"

Jacob sighed, and said, "Well, Sam is the oldest and kind of took over when I didn't want to become the Alpha. Paul is the hot-headed of the bunch, but lately he's been pretty mellow since he imprinted on my sister, Rachel. Jared is the quiet one, Quil is like my right hand man, and Embry is the jokester. You've already met Seth and Leah."

I looked up at the sky, it was actually sunny today, a rare treat. "C'mon let's go back your house. I could use a drink."

We walked back to his house hand in hand, as I told him about my uncle and his family. I even mentioned Mackenzie, my estranged cousin who ran off with her boyfriend 5 years ago.

When I said her name, a strange vibe went through me like some sort of premonition or something.


	5. Mackenzie

**5) Mackenzie**

Billy was finishing his breakfast when we came in. "Hey, Keri. How are you today?" he asked me when I sat down on the couch across from him.

I replied, "Fine, thanks. It's sunny today, which is great since it never is."

Billy nodded absently. _How lame am I that I talk about_ _the weather_, I thought to myself. Jacob brought me a soda and waved at his dad as I followed him out of the house.

We walked to the garage and sat in the Rabbit which had apparently been neglected for a while. "My dad's the life of the party isn't he?" Jacob asked jokingly.

I shook my head. "My dad's the same way. He's not a man of many words either."

"So, are you ready to go back to public school?"

"Yes and no. The thing I liked about Winston was that you could go at your own pace. Every two months, you would study a basic subject, like math or science. When you passed the exam, you would move on to the next subject and etc. What I mean is 6 hours a day I would be stuck in an advanced science class and for the last 2 hours of the day, I would take an elective, like music or gym. Then, we would have study hour, which we used to catch up on homework or tests. The rest of day was free time to hang out. Lights out was around 10 p.m. Then you wake up in the morning and do it all over again."

Jacob stared at me in utter fascination, which was the only way to describe it. "So, you liked the classes, just not the people there, right? That's what you told Bella last night. I wished my school worked like that. It would be nice not to follow a deadline."

"Well, when I go to Forks High, it will be like that for me, At least I'll be smarter than half of the people who go there, since the only way to get into Winston was if you had a 3.8 GPA or higher."

"Well, I guess you can give Edward and the others a run for their money, Miss Einsteinette." I chuckled at Jacob's silly nickname for me.

There was a piecing howl from the woods, and Jacob reacted instinctively. "Hold on," he said to me as he ran out of the garage.

I realized he left the keys in the ignition and turned the knob slightly to turn on the radio. I found a pop station and sang along to the song as I waited for Jacob to return. As soon as the next song started, Jacob was back and I turned it down as I waited for the explanation for his sudden disappearance.

"A body has been found near the lodge outside of Forks. It was completely drained of blood, and there were no animal traces found on it. Seth told us that none of the Cullens were behind it, since Carlisle had to examine the body. It is also not another vampire either, since something would've been broken or there would've been bite marks, but nothing. Seth called to tell us so none of the wolves would think it was a vampire behind it. Apparently, it was on the news this morning. It was girl, about 16."

I swallowed my soda hard as I thought about this new threat. "Did they say what is? A serial killer or something?"

"No, they don't know who or what is, and the police have no leads. We are on alert until they find more information about what is going on."

Basically, he means that he will be by my side 24/7 to make sure I'm protected. Now I know how Bella must've felt when she was human. "Jacob, you don't need to worry about me. If it is a vampire, then my blood will instantly repel him and plus I have a shield that will prevent it from attacking me."

Jacob did not look at all convinced in the least. "Well, I'm still going to look after you. I need to know that you'll be safe, no matter what."

If this is what Jacob sounds like protecting me, I bet it is nowhere near what I'm going to get from my dad and Bella. As soon as I thought of it, my phone rang. I checked the caller I.D., and sure enough it was Bella.

"Hello?"

"Keri, where are you? They just found a drained body in the woods this morning, and I've been worried sick about you. You said you were coming over today. I need to talk to you, pronto," Bella said frantically into the phone.

I knew she was not going to like the answer I was about to give her, but I replied, "Please, don't freak, but I'm over at Jacob's house. He told me about it. Trust me; danger is the last thing I'm in."

Bella was silent for a moment, and I'm sure I heard something break in the background. I heard Edward's muffled laughter, which confirmed it. "Bella, I'm with Jacob now, okay? Just get over it, you're being completely ridiculous. At least, I'm surrounded by werewolves; nothing is going to get through them. I'm fine, okay. I'll be over there, soon" I hung up and Jacob shook his head at me.

"We're going to get it when we go over there you know."

As we left the garage, something caught my attention. "Is that your motorcycle?" I asked.

Jacob nodded and led me towards the car, clearly trying to divert my attention. "Could you teach me how to ride it someday?" Jacob stopped and bit his lip.

I figured that the last thing he wanted was me on a motorized death vehicle, but he sighed and said, "After things calm down a bit, then yes, I'll teach you how to ride. Maybe you could borrow Bella's helmet." I rolled my eyes as I hopped into the car.

We stopped by Emily's for a only a short while, since Bella and my dad kept calling me every 5 minutes during the entire visit. My dad basically wanted to make sure I was safe and up to speed about the whole disturbance.

I enjoyed hanging out at Emily's though; only a couple of Jacob's friends stopped by since the rest were on patrol. Jared brought his girlfriend, Kim, by and I had a nice conversation with her. Jared imprinted on her, but her situation was drastically different from my own; she had a crush on Jared, and after he transformed, he imprinted on her.

Emily's niece, Claire, who is 4 years old now, is just the cutest thing. Quil imprinted on her last year, and what can I say, he's the happiest babysitter I've ever seen.

Emily told me about her and Sam, which I came to realize, is the main reason why Leah is the way she is, and also why Bella acted out the way she did. If it were the other way around, I'd be pretty pissed, too.

Emily is also 3 months pregnant, with twins, and Jared joked that Jacob and I should babysit to get some hands-on experience for the future, which lead to Jacob smacking Jared on the back of the head.

Soon, we pulled up in front of the Cullens house and Bella and Edward were already outside waiting for us. Bella pulled me out of the car and led me into the house, not even pausing to say hi to Jacob. Once we were inside, I noticed that everyone was downstairs, which means that we were about to have a very important discussion.

I sat down on the couch between Esme and Bella, with Edward taking a seat on the arm rest next to Bella. Jacob sat on the other side of the room, eyes locked on me. Nessie was reading something to Seth on her E-Book, when she spotted me.

She ran over to me and placed her in my lap. She touched my face and gave me a rundown of everything I missed: the announcement on the news, Carlisle's description of the body, Bella breaking the flower vase (I cracked up at that one) and finally Bella, Esme, and Alice discussing possible safety precautions for me and my dad's well-being.

I thanked Nessie from saving me the trouble of having anyone repeat themselves, and Edward started in, "We think that a vampire isn't behind this attack, but we might be mistaken. It is unlike anything we've ever come across in the past so that's why we called you here. Until we can get more information or this thing stops, we want you to know that everyone will be on guard. When Bella was in danger, you and your family risked everything to help us protect her, and when we were gone you did. You both did."

Jacob nods and Bella continues, "I want to return the favor. Keri, you are a powerful asset that someone would benefit from gaining, whether they're a vampire or not, and you're human too, so you are vulnerable. You're going to be starting school next week, so it's not like we can keep you here or on the reservation all hours of the day. But I want you to know that we will be on watch in case someone does have you as a target. We don't want a repeat of the past, but this is exactly how it started. Alice will be watching for any change in your future, and one of us will keep watch at night over you and Charlie."

I really didn't like that they were going through all this trouble for me, but I understood the reason behind it. If a vampire or someone else got their hands on me, they would be untraceable, with my blinking and shield. I sighed and accepted their request.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Jacob. How is Alice supposed to see Keri's future if it disappears when you're around her?"Edward said suddenly. I understood why Bella was freaking out earlier.

"What did he say?" Bella asked Edward.

Jacob cleared his throat, wanting to speak for himself, I guess. "I had an idea that maybe I could drive Keri to school, and pick her up afterwards. That way, someone would always be with her, since someone's going to be watching her house or she's going to be with us."

"No way. I'm not in grade school anymore. The reason I got the car was so I could drive to school like a normal teenager. What if I get sick? How would I get home?" I protested. I realized that was a stupid question to ask since Alice would see me going to the nurse's office.

"What about your schooling, Jake? You've barely been to school over the past year. Aren't you behind?" said Bella.

Jacob shook his head and answered, "I'll manage. How would I be able to focus on school if I'm worried whether or not if Keri is okay?"

"Hello, people, I think I can take care of myself for a measly 15 minutes. I'll drive slightly below the speed limit if it makes you feel any better," I bantered.

I'm almost 17 years old, for crying out loud. I think I have enough sense by now not to talk to strangers. Bella started to protest again, but Edward motioned for her to let it go. I felt an instant wave of calm, and I knew that Jasper was trying to calm Bella down.

I sighed and got Nessie's E-Book from the floor (mentally). "That's cool!" Seth replied and went over to talk to Jacob.

Esme patted my back and whispered, "It's going to be okay, sweetie. We just want you to be safe." She and Alice went upstairs. Rosalie and Emmett went outside.

"What story do you want to read, Nessie?" I asked her, and she giggled and picked one out.

Fast forward to a week later, and once again I was at the Cullens house, getting ready for my movie date with Jacob.

After some constant pleading, I finally convinced Jacob to let me drive myself to school. I allowed him to take me to school on my first day, but after that I wanted to go on my own.

I knew he was watching me during school hours anyway; during Biology class, I vaguely saw a wolf shadow move outside the window. I flipped out and my lab partner, Tori Meyer, had requested another lab partner behind my back. After a sincere apology from both sides, we were back on good terms by Friday.

She even asked if I could join her and her boyfriend, Kyle Samuels, to the movies. She had insisted on setting me up with one of Kyle's friends, but I told her that I already had a boyfriend. I don't know why I told her that, I mean I wasn't really lying, Jake is my soul mate, but then again we haven't even had our first kiss yet. Plus, most of Kyle's friends were in some of my classes, and let's just say their elevators don't go all the way up to the top floor.

"Alice, I really don't need that much makeup. I'm going to the movies, not the opera," I told Alice as she was going overboard on her makeover on me. I just wanted some mascara and lip gloss, but she insisted on buffing me out.

"Since you're going with Jacob, I can't see a thing, I just want to make sure you look gorgeous, as you do already," she shot back.

Jacob was not happy when he dropped me off at school on my first day and all the guys kept staring at me. He looked like he was about to go completely mental. It reminded me of when Bella described her first day at Forks High.

"Alice, if you don't release her, they're going to be late," Bella pleaded on my behalf.

Alice finished up on my lips and rolled her eyes at us, which I took as my okay to escape. I slipped into my silver ballet flats, which complemented my black jeans and classic white t-shirt. I grabbed my tan corduroy jacket from Bella and blinked downstairs.

"Jake, I'm ready," I called toward the kitchen.

Jacob comes out, dressed in jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, with my dad trailing behind. "Remember what I said Jacob," my dad warned and joined Emmett and Carlisle on the couch.

I looked from my dad, who winks at me, to Jacob, who is trying not to laugh. I opened the door and walked downstairs to the car. I hopped in the driver's seat and Jacob took the passenger seat beside me. I waited to see if he would protest, but he didn't.

When we were well on our way to Port Angeles, I asked, "So did you and my dad have a nice little chit-chat?"

I could tell Jake was trying not to smile, but it came out all wrong. "Well, it was interesting, for one," he replied.

"Oh, no. He didn't give you the BIG TALK, did he?"

"No, he just told me to look out for you and that if I hurt you; he was going to arrest me, since he knew he wouldn't win a fight with me, obviously." I frowned at the thought of my dad and Jacob in a fight.

"Why what did you think he said?" Jacob asked. I blushed, and turned the radio up. Jacob rolled his eyes at me and stared at me all the way to the movie theater. It didn't make me feel uncomfortable in the least; it made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes.

After I parked the car, I searched for Tori and found her in the middle of the line. When I finally caught her attention, she waved and motioned for us to come over. Kyle looked Jacob up and down, which I knew meant that he was intimidated by him. Tori's brunette hair glistened in the moonlight, and Kyle's blond hair flopped in his face.

They looked cute together, but somehow, they didn't fit right. I wondered how Jacob and I must look to an outsider. "Yay! You made it! Finally, I've been fighting with Kyle and the Sunshine twins back there for the last 15 minutes over what movie we're going to see. I want to see _Farwell to Forever_, and they want to see _Monster Mash: Ultimate 3-D_. I told them that when you two showed up, then we could decide. How bout it?"

I didn't want to get on Tori's bad side, but I knew that if we went to see a romantic movie, then Jacob would be trying to get me to kiss him through the whole movie. Plus, I liked the thought of cuddling up with Jacob through the more gruesome parts.

I looked at Jacob, who just shrugged as if to say, _whatever you pick is fine with me._ On that comforting thought, I said, "Monster Mash for two, please."

Tori poked out her lip and Kyle high-fived his buddies. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Heads for Monster Mash, tails for Farewell to Forever. Okay?" I suggested.

Everyone grumbled in annoyance, but I took out a quarter and flipped it. I opened my palm for everyone to see.

"Heads it is then. See, Tori? Even the universe doesn't want us to go see that lame movie," Kyle bantered, proudly.

Tori kept her lip poked and shrugged off Kyle's arm. Kyle rolled his eyes at her, and turned to Jacob. "Sorry about that, man. I'm Kyle, this is my girl, Tori, and these are my buds, Mike and Dave."

Jacob nodded at them, and wrapped his arm around my waist, protectively. "I haven't seen you around here before. Are you in college or something?" Dave asked slowly.

Jacob shook his head and replied, "No, I live at La Push. I go to the school on the reservation."

By then, we were at the front of the line. Kyle paid for our tickets and we shuffled inside hurriedly since the movie had already started.

"Fun Fact # 1: I like to watch the previews," I whispered to Jake as we passed the concession stand.

He chuckled and whispered back, "Fun Fact # 2: I like popcorn."

"Compromise: We'll go get our seats now, and later you can come back for snacks since the line will be shorter," I suggested.

He nodded in agreement, and we found some seats in the middle. Mike and Dave were seated next to Kyle, Kyle was seated next to Tori, Tori was seated next to me, and Jacob and I sat together. We were so late, that I only got to watch 1 preview, and I poked my lip out.

Jacob chuckled to himself and held open his hand on the only available armrest, since Tori had claimed the one on my other side. I decided to keep my hands in my lap, and he sighed. Since the beginning was kind of boring, Tori and I kept ourselves busy by texting each other.

Eventually, Jacob and Kyle became annoyed by the lights for our phones, and begged us to stop since we were sitting right next to each other. "Hey, Jake, why don't you go get some snacks, since there's nothing remotely interesting going on," I whispered.

Jacob bit his lip, like he'd rather starve than leave me unsupervised, which I suspected he would be capable of doing. "Jake, go on. We're in a public place. I'll be fine."

Jacob sighed, but asked, "What do you want?"

"Sour patch kids, please."

He rolled his eyes at me, and finally left. I breathed in relief. I didn't like being away from him either; it's just that sometimes I need to take a breather. I realized Tori had been staring at us in amusement, I suspect, and I just shrugged.

Jacob returned a short while later, with a huge barrel of popcorn and my candy. When a scary part came on, Tori and I screamed and I knocked the popcorn out of Jacob's hands. I apologized, and Jacob just laughed at me.

When the movie ended, I hadn't even opened my candy, but most of Jacob's popcorn was scattered on the floor. Once we were all outside, I waved goodbye to Tori and the guys and handed the keys to Jacob.

Halfway to Forks, I got a text message from Tori: "**THANX 4 COMING 2 THE MOVIE WIT ME. UR BOYFRIEND IZ CUTE**."

I giggled to myself and replied: "**HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND" **

"**DON'T LIE I CAN TELL HE IS BY THE WAY HE WUZ LOOKIN AT U"**

"**WE HAVENT EVEN KISSED YET SO NOT HE'S NOT**"

"**WHY NOT**"

"**I NEVER KISSED ANYONE**"

"**UR SCARED JUST GO 4 IT ITS NOT LIKE HE'S GONNA REJECT U**"

"**WHATEVER GOOD NIGHT**"

"**CALL ME WIT THE DEETS!"**

I sighed and thought about what Tori said. She was right, I was scared. Not of him rejecting me, but of my inexperience in kissing.

He had his first kiss with Bella, so I was the only one going into it unprepared. Plus, these days, it never seemed as if it was the right time. I pushed the thought from my mind as we pulled up in front of the Cullens house. Jacob climbed into the back seat as my dad hopped into the driver's seat. I waved at Bella and Nessie, who were waving back from the window.

I kept my thoughts on Jacob's spilled popcorn as we drove towards my house. My heart sped up instantly as I realized the night was coming to an end. When we finally reached the house, my dad said goodbye to Jacob and motioned for me to follow him inside the house.

I followed obediently, but stopped about two feet from the door. My dad was already inside the house, so I knew this would be chance before he could pull me inside. I breathed deeply, and noticed that Jacob was still waiting for me to go inside.

I blinked in front of him, which caught him off guard and put my left hand around his neck to pull him toward me. Jacob immediately realized what I wanted and brought his mouth to mine.

He slipped both of his arms around my waist to pull me even closer. My brain felt like it was disconnected from my body, and my lips were moving with his in blissful ways. In this moment, it felt as if we were two parts of a whole finally coming together.

I didn't want to stop, and I knew he didn't either. My fingers tightened in his hair, and I pulled him closer. I had lost track of time and space, until my dad's annoyed grunting brought us back to reality.

Jacob's lips were still before mine were. I opened my eyes and he was staring at me in wonder and elation. I turned towards my dad, apologetically.

"Come inside, it's getting late," my dad said solemnly.

I nodded and turned back to Jacob. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. "I won't be long, and promise not to close the window this time," he promised.

I nodded and replied, "But one thing first….."

I stood on my toes to reach his face, and he bent down to kiss me again. His hands were soft on my face and his warm lips were gentle. It was brief and very, very sweet. He hugged me securely, and kissed me on my forehead before running off into the woods.

I sighed, satisfied by my spontaneous approach. I blinked inside the house, and caught my dad shaking his head at me. "Good, I thought you two would never be finished. Watching you two is better than a telanovella. I bet he's a good kisser, huh, Kay?" said a voice from the top of the stairs.

My dad and I turned our heads in astonishment as a slender figure descended towards us. I blinked my eyes to make sure this wasn't a mirage. "MACKENZIE!"


	6. The Other Unknown

**The Other Unknown**

"Don't I get a 'how are you' or 'what's up, cuz' or something? A hug, even?" my long-lost cousin asked.

Dad hugged her hesitantly, but I held back. Something wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was up. Mackenzie motioned for me to follow suit, and I sighed and hugged her. She smelled like pine needles and Victoria's Secret.

"So, this is a pleasant surprise. What brings you to Forks?" Dad asked as we walked into the living room.

"Well, I was passing through, and thought I would pop in for a visit, you know, since it's been so long since I last saw you guys. I went by your old house, but a neighbor told me that you had moved here. I remembered that Kay had sent me a picture of her room, so I imagined myself inside, and there I was! By the way, I like what you've done with it, purple suits you much better than that pasty brown color you had," Mackenzie explained.

"Wait, you can blink, too! You have powers, too! Here I was thinking I was the last in existence," I said.

"Of course, I can blink! I was blinking before you were. Anyway, Unc, I was wondering if you mind getting me something to drink, it's been a long day," Mackenzie bantered, annoyed.

Dad nodded and left for the kitchen. "So, Kay, how old are you now?"

"Sixteen, going on seventeen. How old are you, since you know I can't guess by looking at you," I answered.

The phone rang in the kitchen and I heard Dad answer it. "I'm 21. I forgot your birthday was on New Year's Day."

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you talking about, Kay?"

"You don't fool me, Mackenzie. Last time, you 'popped in for a visit', all of the Christmas money I had saved up for Dad's birthday was gone, and so was his brand-new car. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Like I said, I came to see my favorite uncle and cousin. Now drop it. You know what, I think I'm going to go to bed now. Sweet dreams, Kay," Mackenzie said to me as she went upstairs.

I sighed. Dad came out of the kitchen and ran upstairs. I knew immediately that something was wrong, and Dad confirmed it when he came downstairs.

"Another body had been found, near Lake Woodley. Charlie called and asked me to me to come and help. I will be back around midnight, at the latest," Dad said as he headed out the door.

I locked the deadbolt, and ran upstairs. Mackenzie had the guest bedroom door closed, and the last thing I wanted to do was bother her. I went into my room and spotted Jacob coming out of the woods.

I opened my window as far as it could go and waited for him to come inside. Jacob climbed through a few seconds later, and by the look on his face, I knew he heard about what happened. "They found another body. Carlisle left a while ago to examine it, Seth told us," Jacob said worriedly.

I nodded. "You know?"

"Yeah, my dad just left to go help Charlie and the others. Jake, I have a very bad feeling that something is off. First, the drained body with no bite marks, then my estranged cousin shows up, and now another body. I can't put my finger on it, but something's up," I replied.

Jacob's face went from worry to curiosity in an instant. "Wait, did you just say that you're cousin is back? Mackenzie is in Forks?" he asked bewildered.

"Actually, more like sleeping in the guest bedroom down the hall. She says that she just visiting, but I don't believe it for a minute. Remember, when I told you what happened last time she came for a visit?" Jacob nodded and I sighed.

This all was happening so fast. Jacob hugged me and rubbed my back as a comforting gesture. I instantly felt calm and my body relaxed. "I better go check up on Mackenzie before she runs off with _my _car next," I said solemnly.

Jacob followed me down the hallway to the guest bedroom. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. _Why would she lock the door?_, I thought to myself.

"Mackenzie? Hey, cuz, are you in there? I don't hear anything, do you?" I asked.

Jacob put his ear to door and shook his head. I blinked inside of the room and turned on the lamp. I gasped. "Are you okay? What's going on in there?" Jacob asked.

I unlocked the door for him and he eyes widened when he noticed the empty bed. "Where did she go?" Jacob asked after a long silence.

"I don't know. She hasn't been here in years. She blinked inside my room to get here. It's about 10:30, so everything is closed. Jake, I'm worried. What if something happened to her? I know she annoys the hell out of me, but she's still my family," I bantered

. Jacob inched closer to me. "She blinked here? She's an unknown too? If she's like you, who knows where she could've gone?" I shrugged.

I can't just stand here and do nothing, either. "Jake, we have to look for her, or at least try. I would never forgive myself if they ended up finding her body next. Here." I handed Jacob Mackenzie's backpack so he can catch her scent.

Jacob hesitated, but nodded in agreement. If he can get her scent, then his and Sam's packs can follow her scent if they come across it. "Okay, I've got her scent, and I'll tell the others to be on the lookout. Maybe we should ask Bella and the vamps for help," Jacob said as he paced around the room.

I shook my head. Jacob started to protest, but I stopped him. "I thought of that too, it would help, but I wanna see what we come up with first. If we don't find her before my dad gets back, then I'll call Bella, okay?"

Jacob did not like the sound of the word _we_ at the moment, but he knew it would be no good arguing with me. "Jake, I gotta go with you. That way, you and I won't be worried if the other is okay, and I could be with you. Plus, Mackenzie doesn't know about werewolves, so the sight of you might scare her off again. Please?" I begged.

Jacob rolled his eyes at me, and I blinked into my room to grab my cell phone. "What are you doing?" Jacob asked as he walked toward the window.

"I'm setting my phone's clock to go off before midnight, so I can be back in time before my dad gets back. Go ahead, just give me, like 2 minutes," I said in a huff.

Jacob hesitated, but jumped out. I realized I was still wearing the clothes Alice gave me, and quickly changed into a navy blue jogging suit with a white tank top and black Vans. I zipped up the jacket halfway since I could tell it was sort of chilly outside by the breeze coming through the window.

I pinned up my hair, which I had earlier straightened, with a hair clip. I stuffed my Sidekick into my pants pocket and blinked into the woods behind the house. Sure enough, Jacob was waiting for me, in his wolf form, along with Quil, Embry, and Leah.

It was pitch black dark, so I took out my phone and used the flashlight to see. He nodded and I walked beside him as we eased into the forest. Right about now, I wished I could read minds like Edward so I would know what was going between them.

Then, my phone vibrated in my hand, and I stumbled over a thick tree branch. Jacob nuzzled my arm, and I shrugged it off. We walked on for about 20 more minutes until I heard Jacob's and Quil's stomachs growl quite loudly.

"Maybe we should take a break since we haven't come across anything yet. My feet are killing me, and you guys should eat something," I said quietly.

Leah shook her head in agreement with me, and I bet she was thinking the same thing as I was. Quil sprinted off to the west of us, and Embry and Leah took off toward the east. Jacob turned toward me and rolled his eyeball. I guess he told them to spilt up for now.

I noticed a fallen tree bark nearby, and sat down on it. I sighed, and Jacob laid down on his paws and stared at me. A humming sound resonated from his throat, and I giggled. Now that we were alone again, I wanted him to turn back to his human form, but he needed to stay connected to the pack, so I decided it was better to keep my mouth shut.

"Anything so far?" I asked. He shook his head just as his stomach growled ferociously.

"Jake, I mean it. You need to eat something. I think I can take care of myself for a few minutes," I argued.

He sighed, and turned his head towards a breaking branch noise that had occurred behind me. I didn't move, afraid that I would frighten whatever it was away. Jacob eased behind me, quietly as he could, and dodged forward. It sounded as if he had gotten his kill for the night, since I heard rumble, like something huge had fallen. I forced myself to take a peek, and flashed my phone's flashlight toward the huge dark figure behind me.

My guess was confirmed as I watched Jacob tear open the carcass of what seemed to be a deer. It was repulsive, but interesting to watch. My phone vibrated once again, and I grunted in annoyance. Tori had sent me another text, wanting to know why I hadn't called back yet. I rolled my eyes and checked the other 2 previous messages she had sent me before.

The first asked if I had kissed Jacob yet, and the other asked why I hadn't responded to the first one. I rolled my eyes and texted back: "CAN'T TALK NOW CALL U L8R" Tori sent me a wink back.

I laughed. I guess she thought Jacob and I were probably at second base by now. Jacob came up behind me and tapped my shoulder with his nose. "Nice catch. Maybe you should catch a zebra next time, I hear they're much faster," I joked.

Jacob laughed his wolfy, throaty laugh. By then, Leah had caught up to us, with Embry and Quil following behind her shortly after. They shook their heads, which I took to mean they hadn't come across anything either. "We still have some time, let's continue on," I said solemnly.

It's been over an hour now, and we still hadn't come across Mackenzie's scent. Maybe Jacob was right, maybe she blinked back to wherever she came from before. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. We sauntered onward for another 20 minutes until I lost my footing, stumbling onto a cavern.

Jacob grabbed my hoodie with his teeth before I could fall in. "Thanks, Jake," I said. He nodded, just as my phone's alarm went off. It was about 10 minutes to midnight. I gasped, and blinked onto Jacob's back.

He turned around and took off toward the house, with the others trailing behind. Luckily, since I walked the whole way, my scent led straight to the house. All he had to do was follow it. About 5 minutes later, I saw the faint light from the streetlight next to my house. Jacob stopped abruptly, and nearly threw me off his back again.

I blinked in front of him and huffed, "You really need to stop doing that."

He wasn't looking at me; his eyes were locked on something else. I followed his gaze to the slender figure standing a few feet in front of us. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror, and her body was covered with dirt and blood stains. Then, her eyes rolled and she fell to ground.

"Mackenzie! Oh my gosh, Mackenzie can you hear me?" I cried as I shook her.

She was breathing still, but still unconscious. I looked over at Jacob, but he had disappeared. He reappeared a few seconds later, in his human form again.

"We have to get her inside before your dad comes," Jacob said authoritively.

He scooped her up and followed me to the back door of the house, which is the only door that has a spare key. I remembered the key was under the long-forgotten lawn chair on the back patio. I focused on it, and it came flying towards me. It landed in my palm and I opened the door.

"Take her upstairs, to my room," I ordered.

Jake flew down the hall into the living room as I locked the door. I placed the key on top of the TV and looked out of the window. Luckily, there was no sign of my dad yet, and I blinked into my room, just as Jacob entered.

He gently placed her on my bed and asked, "What do you think happened to her? No disrespect or anything, but do you think _she's_ behind the murders?"

I shook my head and answered, "No, she can't even kill a spider."

Just then, a blinding light originated from Mackenzie's necklace, along with a piercing scream. I realized it came from Mackenzie, and soon after, her body started thrashing wildly. Jacob held her arms as I put my hand over her mouth. The light dimmed somewhat, but Mackenzie's thrashing and screaming didn't cease. I stared at the clock on my nightstand.

One minute until midnight, and I hoped that Mackenzie's erratic behavior would stop before then. I don't know if she can read minds or not, but right then, Mackenzie became quiet and still, just as the light went out. Jacob and I looked at each other in relief and curiosity.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure she's gonna tell me, whether she wants to or not," I replied.

Mackenzie's breathing gradually became even, and Jacob released his grip on her. Tears ran down Mackenzie's face, and she moaned softly. I sighed, and climbed into the bed next to her.

"It's okay, Mac, you're safe now. Nobody is going to hurt you," I whispered.

"It's not me I'm worried about," she moaned back.

Jacob raised his eyebrows, and I was about to ask her what she meant by that, but just then, the front door slammed shut. Jacob sighed and gave me a quick peck on the lips before climbing out of my window.

I wrapped my comforter around her to hide her appearance from my dad. Dad came in, and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "What happened?" I asked quietly since Mackenzie was sleeping soundly.

"Another body drained of blood, with no bite marks. Carlisle told me that vampires are not behind this, but we don't know what it is. If it was an animal, there would be a mess. We've got our hands full down at the station. Charlie and a few of the other guys are trying to identify the boy. It's a sad sight; he seemed pretty young, too. Um, why is Mackenzie sleeping in your bed?"

"Well, she thought we should have a slumber party, you know, to distract me from all that's going on. I guess she overwhelmed herself." I hated lying to my dad, but I didn't want him overexerting himself with worry.

Dad sighed, and said, "Look, I know how you feel about her staying here, but she's still your cousin. My only niece. We have to forgive and move on, okay? I want you to be on your best behavior alright, or at least try to be, for me, okay?"

I sighed and nodded. Dad left for his room, and I breathed in relief. I went to the window and spotted a russet wolf figure moving around in the woods. I closed and locked it shut.

xxx

"Good morning! Good morning! Good morning to you! Wake up, Kay, and greet the day! I made cereal!" Mackenzie chimed as she jumped on the bed.

I wasn't sure if Mackenzie would start thrashing again, so I slept in the guest bedroom last night, just in case. "What time is it?" I whispered sleepily.

"Um, like eleven something. C'mon, Kay, it's been a long time since I've seen you, and I don't know how long I'm staying. So, please, get up, for me? If not for me, then for Jacob, your super-hunky boyfriend?"

I rolled right out of the bed and onto the carpeted floor. "WHAT? Jacob's downstairs? When did he get here?" I yelled.

"Geez, take a chill pill, cuz. You're really antsy in the morning. He's been here for about ten minutes, at the most. Uncle Jay had to go to the station; he won't be back until later on tonight. Well, come on, Forks is waiting!" Mackenzie exclaimed.

I shook my head in annoyance. I wondered how she could be so peppy when she came home covered in blood and dirt. I got up and went to my bathroom sink, which was monopolized by products of every kind. Hair, skin, teeth, arms, body, you name it; it was there on my countertop.

I huffed and pulled myself together. I decided to impress Mackenzie by wearing one of Alice's outfits: a light blue sundress with a black coverall vest with dark blue ballet flats. I let my long dark hair down, and sauntered downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen to find Mackenzie and Jacob laughing over something. I cleared my throat, and diverted their attention. Jacob, wearing cutoff jeans and a grey t-shirt, walked over to me and scooped me up into a tight bear hug and pecked me on the cheek.

I looked up at him, flustered, but luckily my chocolate skin could never reveal that. "Aww, that's so cute. You two are so adorable. It makes me miss my ex," Mackenzie bantered. She handed me the bowl and they joined me at the table.

"Mackenzie, here, was telling me how you guys used to flush Barbie dolls down the toilet," Jacob said, jokingly.

I nudged him in the ribs, even though I knew he wouldn't feel it in the slightest. "Yeah, I was reminiscing with him about the 'old days'. We used to behead them and used them as launches with our neighbors' slingshot," Mackenzie continued on.

"I remember that. Good times, good times," I said between bites.

Jacob stared at me, and playfully stole a piece of cereal from my bowl. Mackenzie eyed us in amusement and sighed. I heard a noise from the living room and realized the TV was on. I grabbed my bowl and went into the room to watch it, with Jacob trailing behind.

I gasped as a newscaster presented the story of yesterday's murder victim. "Vincent Milroy, age 19, was found dead last night 2 miles south of Lake Woodley. The police have no leads, and no one had come forward with information. Interestingly enough, the body was once again completely drained of blood. Investigators tell us that a new serial killer is on the loose, with 2 bodies being discovered in the past week. Police tell us to be on the lookout and report anything suspicious."

I changed the channel to MTV to lighten the mood. I noticed Mackenzie had joined us and had a blank look on her face. She composed herself and chimed, "Oooo, I love this song!" and went back into the kitchen. Jacob and I exchanged glances.

"Did you see that, she just spaced out, I've never seen her do that, ever!" I said.

Jacob nodded in agreement. I finished my cereal and placed the bowl in the sink. Mackenzie was texting someone and put her phone away in her jeans pocket when she finished.

"So, Mac, what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Where did you buy that outfit? It looks cute on you," Mackenzie asked me.

"My friend, Alice, bought it for me. So?"

She sighed, and deliberated for a minute. "Well, I don't know, really, Forks doesn't have much going for it. I guess I'll just tag along with you then," she answered solemnly.

I nodded and replied, "Well, actually, I was going to visit some friends with Jake. Are you sure you want to come?" She grinned and blinked out of the room.

I looked at Jacob and asked, "Do you mind if she comes with us? I don't want her to be here by herself."

"I understand. Besides, Quil has been bugging me that Claire wants to see you again before they take her back home tomorrow," he answered.

I enjoyed Claire in the same manner I enjoyed Nessie. They were both like the little sisters I always wanted, so adorable and small. Mackenzie snapped me out of my thoughts when she came running downstairs.

"Um, you know what; I forgot that I'm meeting up with an old friend today, so why don't you guys go on without me? I'll see you later on tonight, okay? Bye, Kay," Mackenzie muttered before she disappeared from sight.

I grunted in annoyance as I walked out of the door. I climbed into the driver's seat this time, and Jacob entered from the passenger's side. I sat there for a moment, staring out at the woods. Jacob reached for my hand and I allowed him to intertwine it with his.

The warm touch of it made my mind defrost itself and I sighed. Jacob grinned at me, and I couldn't help but grin back at him in response. I started the car and headed to Emily's house. Once we pulled up, Quil and Claire, who were playing together outside, came and welcomed us.

Claire hugged my leg, and said, "Keri and Uncle Jay have present for me?"

I laughed and picked her up. "No, not today, but next time I will, I promise."

Claire clapped her hands in excitement and pointed towards the tea set she had arranged on the front porch. Jacob and Quil were in some kind of wrestling greeting match, and I shook my heads at them and laughed.

"Hey, Emily! What's up?" I greeted as Claire and I entered the house.

Emily finished rinsing off a plate and gave me a hug. "Nothing much. Just taking care of some last minute things before Claire goes home. How about you? You're doing alright?" Her eyes were full of concern, and I guessed that I must've look worried despite my efforts to show otherwise.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just, um, my cousin, whom I haven't heard from in years, showed up at my house last night. It was just sort of random. I guess I'm just a little worried about her, that's all."

By then, Quil and Jacob had joined us at the table. Claire wobbled out of my arms and jumped into Quil's lap in record time. Jacob was perched on my other side, gazing out of the window.

"Oh, is she with you now?"

"No, she had to take care of something, but hopefully, you'll meet her later."

"Quil, I wanna play pretty princess now!" Claire exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah? Let's go!" he chimed, mockingly.

The rest of us laughed as Claire attempted to dress Quil with two of her blankets, which still didn't cover all of him. I joined them to get my mind off of things.

"Uncle Jay! Uncle Jay! Come here! Play princess with me and Keri!" Claire begged.

I locked eyes with Jacob and pleaded. He sighed, and reluctantly joined us. Emily and I cracked up as Claire put makeup on both Jacob and Quil. Quil got a kick out it, and Jacob looked like he'd rather be electrocuted.

"Aww, now you both look like pretty princesses," I teased.

Claire and Emily giggled. We played pretty princess for a while longer, until it was time for Claire's nap. Interestingly enough, Quil was just as strict about Claire's nap schedule as much as Emily was. I hugged Claire and Emily good-bye, and Jacob and I headed back to his house. The tiny red house was silent when we came inside.

"Where's Billy?" I asked quietly.

"He's over at Quil's house. His grandfather has pneumonia and my dad's just watching out for him and his family," Jacob answered solemnly as he closed the door behind us.

I could tell by the tone of his voice that everyone was afraid that they might lose another elder. I swallowed hard and wrapped my arms around his waist. He pulled me closer and kissed me gently on the lips. My blood boiled beneath my skin and I entangled my hand in his hair passionately. He kissed me more fiercely and I could taste the sweet smell of his hot breath. Then, my phone vibrated in my pocket, which instantly killed the mood. I sighed, and answered it.

"Hello, Keri? Where are you? Are you with Jacob?" Dad asked frantically.

Jacob went over to the fridge and took out 2 cokes. "Um, yeah. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, I just called the house and no one answered. Is Mackenzie with you?"

"No, she said she had to meet up with a friend and disappeared before I could ask where she was going. She said she would be back later on tonight."

"Alright. Well, I guess I'll, um, let you get back to what you were doing, as long as it's PG."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Bye, Dad!"

I hung up hurriedly. I joined Jacob on the couch, which seemed more like a loveseat with his huge size. I nestled myself onto his lap and playfully stole the remote control from his free hand since the other was occupied with his coke can. I flipped through the channels and settled on a teeny-bopper show about rich teens that live in New York and have seemingly never heard of birth control.

I looked up at Jacob, who appeared more interested in me than the television. I smiled at him, and he smiled back in response, but there was still worry and concern in his eyes. "What's wrong, Jake? I mean, you have nothing to worry about. I'm with you, aren't I?" I asked.

Jacob's eyes softened and he replied, "I guess you're right. I guess I'm just a little paranoid."

"I understand. I worry about you too sometimes, even though I don't have a reason to."

Jacob kissed me once more, and I remembered that I hadn't called Tori back. I got up and pulled out my phone and went outside. "Hey, I thought you'd never call me back," Tori answered.

"Yeah, I, um, got a little caught up, but I'm good now. Alright, we kissed."

"I knew it! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist. How was it?"

"Sorry, I'm not going to spill all the details. Anyway, did you hear about the dead kid?"

"Yeah, I saw it this morning. Isn't weird? I thought they had stopped this kind of thing last year in Seattle. You think the killer is coming here?"

"I don't know. I just hope that you're being careful."

"I am. My super-strict parents even bumped up my curfew by like an hour. Kyle's kind of pissed that we can't have 'study dates' anymore."

"Well, I got to go, but I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure. Bye, Keri."

Jacob was snoring loudly on the couch when I came back inside. I nestled myself next to him and decided to take a quick nap as well…

I woke up in my bed and looked at the clock. It was about 6 o'clock in the evening and Mackenzie still hadn't returned. I sighed, and noticed something glimmering from my desk.

I got up and placed in my hand. It was a silver chain with a crimson red crystal hanging off of it. It was very glamorous and simple, like Mackenzie. There was also a note attached to it from Mackenzie:

_**Sorry, Kay, but I had to split. I hope to come back to visit soon. Tell Uncle Josh that I'm sorry. Love ya both, Mackenzie**__._

I huffed, and threw against the wall. I was hoping that she would stick around long enough for me to ask her what was going on, but I guess not. I went downstairs and gave the note to Dad, who just shook his head.

"Oh, well. That's Mackenzie, I guess. Looks like it's just us two," he said.

I ate my dinner in silence and headed to do my laundry when I finished. When I was done with that, I talked to Jacob and Tori on the phone.

Jacob informed me that my dad came by to see Billy, but decided to take me home instead. Jacob went to do his patrol around my house next until Esme and Carlisle showed up taking over his shift. I apologized, but he shrugged it off.

"Nothing is more important to me than your well-being, you know that," he told me.

I sighed, wishing that everyone would stop babysitting me. Tori, on the other hand, was a little intriguing. She notified me that she sucked at flag football during the girls vs. boys' football game behind Kyle's house earlier today. The boys won, but according to Tori, only because they would fondle the girls butt every time they tried to steal a flag. Both of us cracked up and I relaxed a little. Then, sleep dragged me under…..

I woke up that morning to the unwelcome sound of my alarm clock. I hadn't even changed into my pajamas last night. However, when I went into the bathroom, I noticed that something had changed.

Something was there that wasn't there before and it was the crimson crystal that was hanging from my neck. I didn't take too much time wondering how it got there, but more like how good it looked on me. I felt confident and fearless as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I knew things from then on were about to change…

After about a month, the murders died down rather quickly. The police only found 1more body in the woods. I was at ease now since I knew that I would no longer be under a microscope. One morning, Dad left early for work, and I forgot to set my alarm clock. I woke up about 3 hours late for school.

"Crap! Not again!" I exclaimed.

I rushed to clean myself up and get dressed. I grabbed my books and backpack on my way out of the room. I stopped in the kitchen for a moment to grab a pop-tart for breakfast. I decided that I would try to blink to school; everyone would already be inside so no one would really notice.

I pictured myself in the hallway near the front office and I blinked myself there. I checked to see if all of my items were intact, surprisingly they were. I smiled at myself, proud that I had finally been able to do that. I entered the front office, and Mrs. Tatum greeted me from behind the counter.

"Good morning, Keri. How are you today? Late, I see," she said to me as she wrote out an admission slip to class.

I replied, "A little groggy, that's all. Thanks."

I took my slip and headed to my Algebra 2 class hurriedly. When I turned the corner, I noticed Kyle coming out of the girls' bathroom. I hid behind the stairs and saw Pam Montgomery, a varsity cheerleader, leave the bathroom a short while later.

I gasped as I put two and two together. I deliberated with myself whether or not to tell Tori about Kyle, but I decided that if things were in reverse, I would want to know the truth. I ran to my class, left the slip on the teacher's desk, and slid into my seat next to Kyle and Dave in the back of the class.

I focused on catching up with the class as quickly as I could until the bell rang for lunch. My nerves were shot and my palms were sweaty, but I knew what I had to do. I spotted Tori with Jennifer Matusiak in the hallway and motioned for her to follow me.

I led her into the girls' bathroom and swallowed hard. "Hey, Keri! You missed so much 1st period! First, Dave hit Mr. Hucklebee with a spitball and made a complete goof of himself…." She started in.

"Tori, I have to tell you something, something very important, and I don't care if you get mad at me. Here goes…I caught Kyle leaving the girls' bathroom this morning with Pam Montgomery. I don't know what happened in there, but I have a feeling that it wasn't PG-13," I said slowly.

Tori's eyes went from curiosity to concern to shock to anger with each passing word. She put her hand up in front of my face as if to stop me from finishing, and then the waterworks started.

"I can't believe this! I can't believe YOU! You had me convinced that you were my friend, but I guess I'm the fool, right? Kyle would never cheat or lie to me. YOU, Keri Hanson, are the REAL liar! I don't believe you!" Tori cried.

Then, she stormed out of the bathroom before I had a chance to plead my case. I didn't even care really; she was in denial, and called me a fake and a liar. I wished Jacob had been there to comfort me, but all I wanted to do was punch something or someone.

Then, the perfect target came into my mind. I stomped out of the bathroom and into the cafeteria. Jennifer came up beside me to ask about Tori, but I guess the fierce expression on my face made her concerned for me. "Keri, is everything alright? You look like you're ready to kill someone right now, like literally," Jennifer stammered.

"Where's Kyle? I need to talk to him, NOW," I growled. Jennifer jumped at the threatening tone of my voice and pointed a trembling finger towards a table at the back corner of the caf.

I held my head high and stormed toward my prey. Kyle was chatting with some of his buddies over a sports game from last night. "So where's Tori? Or should I say Pam," I asked menacingly.

Kyle turned to me and replied, "What are you talking about, Keri? There you go, making up stuff as usual."

"Kyle, don't play dumb with me, if you aren't already. I know about you and Pam Montgomery. Don't deny it," I said.

"Keri, I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should go and get your head examined because you sound loony," Kyle shot back.

"Kyle, just give it up. I know the truth. Pam told me everything. Don't lie because you have no reason to lie to me anymore. Tell me the truth. I heard it from Keri and Pam, but I won't really believe it until I hear it from you," Tori said unexpectedly.

By then, most of the cafeteria was dead silent and focused on our reality-TV moment. Kyle sighed, clearly defeated. "Alright, you got me. I'm sorry. I admit that I have been messing around with Pam for a while. C'mon, Tori, did you really think that I would wait for you forever? I mean, a guy like me has needs," Kyle answered egotistically.

I shook my head in anger. Tori burst out in tears and nodded. "Honestly, I did. At least I know now, so thank you for saving me from resenting you later. Oh, and thank you especially, Keri, at least you were able to tell me the truth," Tori cried.

I nodded and rubbed her back. Kyle huffed, "Yeah, thanks, Keri, bitch."

I felt the anger and power brew inside of me and at that moment, I just followed my instinct and released it towards Kyle.

A bright flash emitted from me, like lightning almost, and Kyle flew over the table and through the window. Everyone gasped and ran towards Kyle. Tori and Jennifer stared at me in shock and awe, and I fled the cafeteria before the principle came for me.

I found the nearest restroom and stared at myself in the mirror. _What's happening to me? How did I do that?_, I thought to myself. I looked down at the crystal from which the flash originated from.

I realized it functioned like a mood ring, since it was dim because I was still angry at Kyle's comment and his betrayal to Tori. I had so much on my mind that I only wanted to talk to one person at the moment about what just happened.

I went into one of the stalls and locked it behind me and speed-dialed Jacob. "Hello?" Jacob answered rather sleepily.

"Jake, its Keri. Something just happened, and it's all my fault and you are the only person who I knew would be on my side..." I started in.

Jacob cut me off and someone in the background murmured something to him. When he returned, his voice was more alert and full of concern. "Keri, I know you want to talk right now, but something just came up. Meet me at the Cullens' house ASAP. Can't wait to see you, bye."

I hung up, wondering what was so important that he couldn't discuss it with me over the phone. I figured it was one of those moments that you see on TV where they show you what was up and that made you understand it more. I smiled since I was about to skip school and see Bella and Jacob.

I pictured myself in the Cullens' living room and I was there in an instant. My smile faded as I noticed that everyone was clustered around a central figure. I cleared my throat and everyone looked at me.

Esme hugged me instantly and rubbed my back. "We were so worried about you. Don't worry we're going to take care of this," she whispered in my ear.

I stared unknowingly and then I heard familiar sobs from the couch. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Keri. I never meant for you to get involved, not at all. He found me, and forced me to do his dirty work for him. I'm so sorry," Mackenzie blubbered from the couch.

I gasped as I noticed her battered body and face. Her hair was unusually messy, and her clothes were once again covered in dirt and blood. Her lovely face was bruised all over and she had a black eye.

I walked over to her and asked, "What do you mean, 'get me involved'? What's going on Mackenzie?"

She looked at me as if the truth would send her over the edge. Nessie patted her leg and whispered, "It's okay. You're safe here, with us."

I turned to Edward, who looked at Carlisle and then Bella, who was standing on my other side. They nodded, and then he turned back to Mackenzie.

"I know this is all new for you, but it isn't to us. We won't harm you in any way or form; we just want to know what's going on. I can't read your thoughts since you are thinking so many things all at once, it's like in flashes," Edward explained slowly, as if not to frighten her.

"Mac, I just want to know who did this to you. I want you to answer my questions. Why did you give me this necklace? What is this?" I asked solemnly.

Mackenzie sighed, as if she couldn't hold it all in anymore. She started in, "Well, as you know, 5 years ago, I ran off with my then-boyfriend Will. William Monroe. I was blinded by my love for him, maybe if I wasn't, I would have seen the signs. Anyway, he used to tell me about the unknowns, how he was a descendent of one. I was so happy to finally have someone who I could share it with, so I told him about my abilities. He told me that he had the gene for it, but it never showed.

He was an heir to a big pharmaceutical company, so he had lots of money for research. He took some of my blood and injected it into himself to become an unknown. Only he modified it, so he turned out to be very powerful. After his transformation, he started testing others to see which humans were the best candidates for his army of unknowns.

He figured if he could create an army of superhuman, he could bargain them with some of the top military defenses and militias in the world and rule them all. He found out that teenagers had the best chance of surviving the transformation, since elders had weaker immune systems and children were hard to control.

When I found out what he was doing, I tried to stop him, but with our history, and he being the only one that knew about unknowns, he knew I couldn't turn him in without exposing our family in the process. So I had no choice but to join him." Mackenzie realized she could go no further, and Carlisle brought her another ice pack for injuries.

"Do you mind finishing for me? I don't think I can say another word," Mackenzie said weakly as she laid back on the sofa.

Edward hesitated but continued, "The way this William fellow found out about Keri was that he used truth serum on Mackenzie. Apparently, William watched and followed Keri for months, hoping that she would show signs of being an unknown.

William gave up, and set Mackenzie free. Then, she came to visit Keri, and Mackenzie realized that William was right all along.

Mackenzie's friends tried to break free from his secret facility in Seattle, and Mackenzie tried to help, but William caught them before they could escape. In retaliation for Mackenzie's lying to him, he killed them, draining their body of blood to use for experiments and so the murders wouldn't be linked back to him. We know them as the dead teenagers that found over a month ago in the woods. Now he wants Keri to join his army."

"NO! No, that's not going to happen, not if I have anything to do with it," Jacob bantered unexpectedly.

I concentrating so hard on what Edward and Mackenzie were saying, that I hadn't even noticed his entrance. I hugged him in relief and said, "I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you so much. There's so much I have to tell you."

Jacob kissed my forehead and replied, "I know, but this is important. Leah and Seth found her unconscious in the woods and recognized her scent. I was at home asleep and then you called. Leah burst in, and told me some of the details. I told her to bring Mackenzie here, and that I would tell you to meet me here. I see you got more of the story than I did. So what does William want with Keri now?"

Mackenzie murmured, "He was planning to kidnap Keri once she was alone, so I gave her my necklace as a cloaking device to lead William away."

"Wait, YOU PUT THIS ON MY NECK DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU? Don't you realize what you've done? What you've done to me? You ruined my life Mackenzie!" I exclaimed.

I used my powers and applied pressure to Mackenzie's throat. I sent her flying through the living room into the kitchen, full of anger and rage. "Don't you know what you've created? A monster! That's what I am because of you, a monster filled with nothing but hate and rage, and it's all your fault!" I yelled.

Mackenzie gasped for air as I pinned her to a corner. I let go slightly so she could speak. "I- never meant- for you- to become- like- this. I- was trying- to- protect you," she gasped.

Jacob, Edward, and Emmett pulled me back some ways and I dropped my hand. Mackenzie collapsed and breathed for air. Esme and Alice held her up. I backed away terrified of my own self.

This new me scared me and made me harm innocent people. I burst out in tears and fell on my knees. Jacob knelt beside me and rubbed my back.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just wanted someone to pay for all the pain this had caused me. First, I pushed Kyle through a window at school, now I almost killed my own cousin. What's happening to me? What did you do to me?" I blubbered between sobs.

Mackenzie wiped her face and answered, "It's the necklace. The crystal can keep other unknowns from tracking you, but also enhances feelings of anger or aggression, so you feel more powerful. It's from the toxin in the crystal; it's lethal to normal humans. I found that out the hard way."

I stood up and embraced my cousin and sobbed along with her. After a while, we pulled ourselves together, we focused on the problem at hand. I pulled out an icepack from the now-battered fridge and handed it to Mackenzie, who had resumed her position on the couch.

"Look, after I left, he chased me to New York and back. Then he found me in Las Vegas and beat me to death until I told him the truth, which was that you would never join him. Then, he slipped this note into my pocket and disappeared and I wandered around in the woods until I couldn't go any further. Then the wolves found me and one of them brought me here."

Edward continued, "She was frightened at first, but then Leah explained that she was your cousin. Carlisle helped her regain her strength, and I sent Seth to Jacob's. Bella tried to call you but your cell phone was off. So we relied on Jacob to lead you here."

I took the note from Mackenzie and read it aloud. "_**Dear Keri, I know we haven't met, but in due time we will. I'm sure my rebellious ex has spilled the beans, but I assure you that for her and your safety, that you follow my request; meet me at the meadow your human gal pal accompanied you to last year. The one with the flowers and waterfall in the distance. 5 o'clock sharp. William**_."

The note was typed, like a secretary had written it for him. I glanced at the clock. It was 15 minutes until 5. I paced around the room, thinking. "I don't think we should let her go alone," Esme whispered

. "I agree. We don't know what's he's capable of, and clearly he's a threat," Carlisle agreed.

I said, "They're right. I can't do this alone. He might try and do something with no one watching or predicting his every move. I got an idea: I'll make it seem like I'm alone, and you guys keep yourselves hidden in the woods. I'll try and provoke him to attack me, and then blink into the woods among you. Carlisle, if you don't mind, would you stay here and take care of Mackenzie? Rosalie or Esme can stay here and watch Nessie."

Alice closed her eyes and she and Edward sighed. "He fled before Jacob could attack. I saw him move towards you, and then he disappeared. Then he reappeared somewhere else," Alice answered solemnly.

_I don't want to do something I'll regret, so Edward would you mind crushing the crystal for me? Please and thank you_, I echoed in my head. Edward was in front of me in an instant, and the crystal was mere dust a second later. All the anger, power, and rage inside of me faded almost immediately.

We modified my plan for a couple more minutes, and then it was time for my departure. I took a deep breath and walked outside. Jacob followed me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into an embrace.

"We've got your back, you know that right? We'll be there ready for him. I wish I could rip his head off for what he's making you do, but I know you, you would have done it anyway to protect Mackenzie. That's why I love you, Keri," Jacob whispered in my ear.

Those three little words echoed in my mind over and over again, and I leaned up for a kiss. It was urgent, but still gentle and sweet. I gave him a quick peck and pictured myself back in the meadow. Then, I heard the distant sound of the creek and smelled the fading scent from the dying flowers. I opened my eyes.


	7. Return to the Meadow

**Return to the Meadow**

The meadow was just as beautiful as I remembered it, but only the grass was a little brown and the flowers had withered somewhat.

I heard Jacob's voice in my head, "_We've got your back. I love you, Keri_."

I held my head high and searched among the woods. Suddenly, a tall, tan-skinned man appeared about 12 feet in front of me. He was dressed in a business suit and tie and had a welcoming smile on his face. "Right on time. I guess Mackenzie can keep her word when she's up to it. So you must be the infamous Keri. Hmm, no quite what I expected, but then again you are a teenager. Well I don't have much time to waste, so let's get down to business."

"I know why you wanted to meet me, William. I know what you are and what you want and I have no intention of doing that, so let's not play any games."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Keri, you saw what I did to your cousin. I'm perfectly capable of duplicating that to you, and I don't want to waste a perfectly good general to my army, now do I? Keri, you have so much potential. Mackenzie knows that, your grandmother knew it, and so do I. I can help you reach that if you join me. If not, well then, there will be consequences because I don't like not getting what I want."

"Well, I'll take those chances."

Then, I'll have to kill you and Mackenzie, too."

I glared at him. "You won't lay a finger on me nor her, you got that?"

"Who's to say that I won't? I have been chasing Mackenzie all over the country for the past month. I can and will find you if you try to run from me, Keri."

"Well, then, just kill me now, because I'll never join you or your stupid army."

He seemed taken aback by my urgency. He pondered a minute, like killing me was too big risk for him to take. I knew I wanted him to make a move. If he made a different move, then Alice's vision would change, and maybe Jacob would have a shot at taking him down.

"C'mon! I'm right here! Do it, if you're not afraid!" I challenged.

"Fine, it's your funeral. I suppose I could use your blood for my army, and find someone more willing," William shot back.

He charged for me, just as I expected, and I blinked into the woods just as Leah, Quil, Jacob, Jasper, and Emmett ran out of them, this caught William off guard, and he tried to blink around them to get to me.

I stayed out of sight, and Alice and Bella were circling me, like vultures protecting their prey. Jacob charged for William, but Quil's right leg caught on fire in an instant. Jasper and Leah tried to put the flame out, while the others tried to trap William.

Alice and Bella grabbed my arms and pulled me toward the opposite end of the meadow. William appeared 2 feet in front of us, and I used my force field to push him backwards.

He flew back about 10 feet away from us, and I brought my force field back to shield myself. William said angrily, "Impressive, Keri. I knew you were capable of great power. Well, it looks like I'm not going to get the honor of killing you today, but my offer still stands. You have 24 hours to respond. Choose wisely."

Then, he disappeared from sight. "Is he really gone?" I asked.

"Yes. He realized that he had underestimated Keri, and the rest of us took him by surprise. He knew he wouldn't win or possibly lived, if he tried to fight a little longer. So he gave up," Edward explained.

"Don't worry, I'll be watching him to make sure he doesn't try anything else and let you know what he decides," Alice murmured to me.

The fire on Quil's leg was out now, and Jacob and Leah were watching out for him as he limped home. A short while later, I returned back to the house with the Cullens to talk to Mackenzie.

She was in a room upstairs, which was created to look like one out of a hospital. Mackenzie was sitting on a hospital bed with an IV hooked up to her arm. She was staring absently at the plasma TV on the wall in front of her.

Esme was by her side, reading a magazine. I sighed and gently knocked on the door. "Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked quietly.

Mackenzie turned and smiled sadly, as if she pitied me even though she was the one covered in battle scars. "I'm much better now. Esme made me a wonderful dinner, and Carlisle hooked me onto the IV since I was dehydrated. Jersey Shore's on, Snooki just punched the Situation in the face. It was awesome."

"Yeah, I bet. I'm so sorry for what I did to you, but you could have at least warned me."

"Well you didn't really give me a chance when you were crushing my throat. Plus, I told you he was unpredictable. But hey, at least you had backup."

"He set Quil's leg on fire and I pushed about 10 feet backwards with my force field. Then, he got away. I would say that the plan failed."

"It's William. He's very persistent, but I should've known; he acts like every other villain in the book. He's not going to stop until he gets what he wants."

Alice, Bella, Edward, Jacob, and Carlisle joined us almost immediately. Alice's face was whiter than usual if that were even possible, and Edward looked at her with pure agony on his face. Jacob held my hand and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"We have a problem, I just had a vision of Keri with William, she's going to take his side," Alice murmured defeated.

"Dang it! Mari warned me that this might happen, but I didn't believe her. He just doesn't stop, does he?" Mackenzie whispered.

Edward replied, "Wait, a psychic like Alice warned you about this? Why didn't you say something?"

Mackenzie looked away from us and shrugged. "Well, like I said earlier, I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this. He's a typical stereotype anyway; he goes after the people whom his present target cares about."

Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. One person in particular, was not here at the moment. The one person whom was the most vulnerable besides Mackenzie. Edward and I exchanged glances, and I whipped out my cell phone to call my dad. It rang and rang, until I reached the voicemail. I groaned and hung up.

A few seconds later, a text message popped up on the screen. It read:

"**WILLIAM-I HAVE UR FATHER U HAVE 22 HOURS OR HE DIES ;)"**

The phone slipped from my grasp and landed with a loud thud on the floor. "She's right; it's never going to end. I have to turn myself in," I announce.

Jacob, Bella, and Mackenzie shook their heads and Esme rubbed my arm. "No, he's too dangerous. If something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'm not going to let you go, Keri," Jacob replied desperately.

"It's the only way to save my dad. If I don't, he'll die. Then, he'll still come after me. I don't have a choice."

Mackenzie gasped. "NO! Not Uncle Jay! She's right, we have to do something. We can't sit here and let her do this by herself. I have a plan; I mean I know William's facility inside and out. Keri is going to convince William that she's on his side, and then the rest of us are going to attack and rescue her and Uncle Jay. What do you think?"

Edward and Carlisle nodded in agreement. I sighed woefully. Jacob squeezed my hand gently. Esme whispered to me, "Keri, you are a part of our family now. You and Bella are like our daughters. We WANT to keep you safe as possible."

I hugged her. It felt nice to have a mother figure in my life since I never had one.

Edward replied, "Don't worry, Keri. Mackenzie knows what she's talking about. It'll be fine."

Mackenzie sighed, exasperated, "Operation Get Rid of William Monroe has commenced!"


	8. Decisions

**Decisions**

"I'm glad you decided to join me, Keri. You will make a wonderful general for my army," William greeted after we reappeared in the lobby of his facility.

It looked very similar to a hospital lobby, with chairs and a secretary answering calls at a round desk. She smiled at me and I waved back.

20 minutes ago, I texted William back and said, "**OK IM IN**." He texted me back to meet him back at the meadow and I left with no hesitation this time, after we reviewed the final run-through with the plan.

I was 5 minutes late, since Alice wouldn't let me leave without changing into the new navy blue sundress she bought me with matching sandals. I looked like I was going to the park, not preparing for an upcoming battle.

I kept my cool, and followed William through the endless maze of hallways, deeper and deeper into the facility. I wondered if I could make a break for it, and try to find my dad on my own, but I figured it would be useless.

"Don't even think about it. I'm the only one who knows where he is, and besides, you wouldn't even be fast enough," William said, calmly, as if he were reading my thoughts.

I knew that I would have to try harder to keep up with the charade, but I was bursting through the cracks. Finally, we arrived at a set of metal doors that opened once William typed a code onto a screen.

I gasped as I slowly took in the room. It looks like the inside of a giant warehouse, but darker and more menacing. William pulled out a radio and whispered something into the microphone.

Suddenly, a giant horde of teenagers entered from a set of doors in the back of the room. I immediately felt nervous and overwhelmed, but I knew that the only way I would get through this was if I excluded confidence. The horde straightened themselves into several perfect rows and saluted us.

William announced, "My soldiers, I would like to introduce you to Keri Hanson, my right hand woman. She'll be my second-in-command from now on. You have much to learn from her. Now I have some errands to run, but I'll be back. In the meantime, Ms. Langston Hughes, our newest member, will monitor things while I'm away. I won't be gone for TOO long."

He glanced right as me as he completed the last sentence as if to say, "_Don't do anything stupid." _I nodded and dismissed him.

As William walked out of the room, a beautiful woman entered in his place. She looked to be around 25 or 26, and had long brown hair. She had faded scares on her face that vaguely resembled Emily's. She huffed at me as she passed and went to stand in the far corner of the room.

I turned my attention to the unsmiling faces standing before me. "I look forward to our future together. We will be an unstoppable force the world has never seen. I've seen things and experienced things that you would only dream about or hear about from movies or stories. But it's real, and it's a dangerous world to consider. I'll be here with you all the way," I boomed.

A young girl around 14 smiled and began clapping and the others followed. I dismissed them for lunch and trailed behind them into the small cafeteria. The girl came up beside me and stuck her hand out. My instinct told me that this was Mari, the girl I needed to find.

"Hi, are you Mari?" I asked.

She grinned and nodded. "Mackenzie told me to find you, and then I would know what to do next. So tell me, what's the lowdown?"

She started in, "I'm Mackenzie's second-in-command of her secret rebellion. We started it a few years ago, and no one wanted to join us. They believed that this was the only kind of life for them, thanks to William's brainwashing. Once Mackenzie broke free of William, she proved to all of us that there's more than power or greed. A few others joined us, and we've been planning and waiting for the day when we could bring William down singlehandedly. After the twins' deaths, we gave up hope, until Mackenzie found you and I had a vision that you knocked William off of his feet. No one had ever been capable of doing that and surviving. A few others joined, and now about more than half of the kids here is part of the rebellion. I saw you join William and turn on him, and I knew you were our only chance of getting our freedom. But as you've seen firsthand, freedom comes with a price. William is still not fully convinced that you are with him, but nevertheless, he is happy that he has an upper hand. You will need to keep up the charade until daybreak, when the battle will begin. Mackenzie and the vampire will successfully rescue your dad, and William will get finally be defeated."

She spoke with such confidence and faith, that I knew that I had no choice but to believe her. I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out a long blue ribbon. I figured Alice must've accidentally left it there, but then, I had a brainstorm.

I slipped the ribbon into Mari's hand and whispered, "Tell the others to wear this ribbon on a visible part of their bodies, so that they won't be killed when the battle starts. If they wear this, they will be freed and sent to safety."

Mari nodded and tucked the ribbon into her jeans pocket. I spotted Langston flirting with some of the boys and breathed a sigh of relief. I noticed a clock on the wall and sighed. Only seven more hours until daybreak.


	9. Battle

A loud alarm rang from the hallways and woke me up out of my cot. I rubbed my eyes sleepily, and looked at the clock above my head. It was about 7 A.M. and as I peeked out of the window, the sun was beginning to rise.

People scurried outside the door of my "office" and someone banged on the door. I unlocked it and Mari was there, fully dressed with a blue ribbon in her hair. She nodded at me as if to say, "_IT's starting_," and I immediately became alert.

She grabbed my hand and blinked us a few feet away from the battle. I could easily spot my friends, as well as the William's soldiers.

Mari and I ducked as a fireball flew our way, and I crawled to the end of the lobby to get a better view of the scene. Mackenzie reappeared next to us instantly and motioned to Mari. Mari disappeared and Edward reappeared in her place. "It's time, Keri," he said to me.

I sucked in my fear and reappeared in front of William, who had just fought off one of the rebellion warriors. I put my hand in front of his face, and he nodded.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, and the fighting ceased. All the attention was on us now.

Mackenzie nodded and I began, "Well, William, how does it feel to learn that the tables have turned. You're evenly matched and unprepared. I'm giving you the chance to surrender now, while you still can."

William laughed menacingly and replied, "What can I say, Keri? You make a pretty good actress, for the most part. I really did believe you. But I guess that was just some flaw on my part. You managed to have my soldiers turn against me, and let your weirdo friends break into my facility. It was a good plan, but not good enough."

"Where is my father?" I demanded.

William pondered for a minute, and I noticed Edward and Mackenzie shuffle towards the back entrance. "Hmmm, I'm not going to tell you, but that's your problem," William decided.

I brewed up all the energy and anger I could and focused it on William. William flew back into the back wall and into what seemed to be a copy room. I flung him into the window and threatened, "You still have time, William, if you want to live. I don't want to have to kill you myself."

William pulled himself off of the floor and balled his hand into a fist. I immediately gasped for air and collapsed on the tile floor. My hands flew to my throat, which was tightening every second.

William grimaced, "You might not want to kill me, but I want to have the honor of killing you. You betrayed me, humiliated me, and now I'm taking it back. Any last words before I crush your throat in half?"

I gasped, but no words came out. Some of the fighting had resumed once I knocked William through the wall, and I couldn't make out who was winning or losing.

I closed my eyes and gasped, " I…love…you…Jacob."

Suddenly, I heard a loud crash as a dark figure knocked William into the window. I gasped for air as my throat opened up. "Keri, are you alright?" my dad's voice yelled out.

My dad lifted me off of the floor and hugged me tight. I cried tears of relief and joy as I returned his embrace. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I never meant for you to get caught up in this. I so glad you're okay!" I blubbered between sobs.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching family reunion, but we need to get her out of here, NOW," Jacob said darkly.

Dad nodded as I noticed William attempt to get up. Mackenzie appeared in the gaping hole in the wall and motioned for us to leave. I turned back to William as he huffed, " No, this isn't over yet! I'm gonna kill you, Keri!"

Mackenzie shuffled into the room past us, and I heard a piercing snap. Jacob and Dad pulled me through the hallway and toward the back door. Another alarm went off and a voice over the intercom began a countdown.

"What's happening?" I yelled. Mackenzie appeared behind us and followed us deep into the woods. Dad and Jacob stopped for a moment so I could catch my breath.

Suddenly, Willliam's facility exploeded and crumbled before my eyes. Mackenzie smiled at me as I stared at her in horror. " Don't worry, everyone made it out safely. After Edward and I rescued Uncle Josh, the facility's self-destruct timer went off. I tried to disengage it, but it didn't work. Then, I informed everyone to make it out as quickly as possible. Uncle Jay, Jacob, and I went to find you, and Emmett, Edward, and Bella made sure that all of the members of the rebellion made it out okay and directed them to Carlisle's house." I smiled in relief and embraced my cousin for the first time in over five years.

Xxx

The Cullen's house was beyond packed with teenagers, vampires, and the werewolf packs. Carlisle would examine the unknowns' injuries, and Bella, Esme, Edward, and I were comforting the rest. Mari came up to me and thanked me.

A few of the others came up behind her and I replied, "No, thank you. If it wasn't for you guys, we would've been outnumbered. But now William's dead and you have your freedom back. You can start a new life or return to your families if you wish. I all I ask is that you never tell anyone of what happened today, or tell them about us."

They nodded and spread the word to the others. Mari said, " Trust me, I don't think anyone in their right mind would believe us anyway. Besides, we owe you one."

One by one, the rebellion members disappeared out of sight. Mackenzie promised a few of them, including Mari, that she would keep in touch. After I said my farewell to the final unknown, I plopped on the couch next to Jacob and laid my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his toned arm around me and kissed my forehead. "I really admired you today. You've really got guts, you know that?" Jacob whispered in my ear.

"Thanks for saving my life today. You really are my knight in furry armor," I whispered back. Jacob snickered, and I fell asleep in his arms.


	10. Allies

**Here it is the final chapter! I hoped you enjoyed this fic as I had writing it! **

"Do you really have to leave? Can't you stay a little while longer?" I pleaded with Mackenzie as we waited for her to finish packing.

After we defeated William, Mackenzie stuck around for a couple days to figure out her next move. I had come to see her in a new light now, as a part of the family.

"It's like you said, I'm free now. I don't have to keep running anymore. Besides, don't you think I miss my little brother? I need to make up for lost time," Mackenzie said guiltily as she zipped up her bag.

I sighed and hugged her. Dad knocked on the door and also hugged her. She wiped the tears from her face and turned back to me.

"I'm always here for you, Keri. If you need me call me. We're more than allies, we're family. I got you're back. Don't mess things up with Jacob. I like him, and he's good for you. Well, I gotta go now. I love you guys." Mackenzie waved and disappeared from sight.

"I'm gonna miss her. How about you kiddo?" Dad asked.

"Me too..." I started in, but when I went to grab my Sidekick from my pocket, it was gone. "NOT! Ugh, Mackenzie!" I screamed.

My dad smirked at me and I explained my missing cell phone. Dad shook his head and left to answer the phone. I turned back toward my bed and realized that Mackenzie had left a gift for me on my desk. It was a black box with a note from her attached to the front:

"_In exchange for your cell, I gave you something even better. I know Jacob's gonna fall head over heels when he sees you in it. Good luck, Mackenzie."_

I opened it to find the most original dress inside. It was about knee-length, a creamy color, with a sweetheart neckline, and a navy blue ribbon around the middle of it. I realized that this was the dress I was going to wear to the homecoming dance tomorrow.

The past week had been hell for me; luckily, the bright flash prevented anyone from noticing that I pushed Kyle through the window without laying a finger on him, on the other hand, I got detention all week for getting into a fight.

My dad was put on the fence about it; he agreed that I should serve my punishment for the school, but he let me off the hook after what happened with William. So I wasn't grounded, but I had to serve detention.

Tori had been a recluse all week, but Jennifer told me those Tori just feels humiliated and is trying to figure things out on her own, so I let it slide. I just hoped that in the end, we would be friends again.

Xxx

"Alice, I think that's enough makeup. We're gonna be late," I whined as Alice finished her makeover takeover.

Alice was helping me get ready for the dance, and I was sure that we would be late. It took forever for me to get approval for Jacob to escort me to the dance. "Fine, you can leave. Just don't get all lovey-dovey and ruin your makeup, okay?" Alice whimpered.

I blinked into the guest room and slipped into my dress, and then I joined everyone downstairs. Esme said, "You look beautiful, Keri. Be safe and have fun!"

Jacob was standing next to my dad, wearing a collared shirt and tie with dark pants. My dad handed Jacob my corsage, and Jacob slid it onto my wrist. "You look beautiful as you always do," Jacob whispered to me.

Alice and Esme took tons of pictures of us, I blushed, and we walked out the door towards the car. As we drove down the highway, butterflies flittered in my stomach as Jacob kissed my hand. When we arrived at the school gym, students were still entering the dance.

Jacob got out and opened the door for me. With his colossal size, I felt like a mini China doll standing next to him. Once we were inside, my friends, Jennifer and Charla, greeted us along with their dates. Jacob kept his hand firmly around my waist protectively.

A slow song came on and Jacob took my waist. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled myself closer to him. I breathed in the musky, forest scent that his skin always wore. I loved it. Jacob hummed in my ear, and I smiled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tori walk past us, and I looked up at Jake, pleading. He nodded as if he understood. I darted after her, and found her near the snack bar. "Hey, Tori," I greeted.

Tori jumped as if my presence was unexpected and she sighed. "Look, Keri, I want to apologize. I've been beating myself up the last few days over this. I just feel so emotional right now, and I felt that I didn't deserve your forgiveness. But I guess I should give you more credit then."

I replied, "Tori, I understand. It's okay. I just wanted to make sure that we were still friends."

"Of course, we are. I'm just the one who's been acting like a weirdo. But I really am sorry about how I've been acting and everything I said." I nodded and hugged her.

Tori jerked her head toward Jacob and I grinned. I found my way back to him and whispered in his ear, "Hey, Jake, I'm sorta tired, can we go home?"

Jake blinked at me since we hadn't even been at the dance for 30 minutes. "Well, if that's what you want, then okay."

I wrapped my arms around his waist as we walked outside into the cool October weather. I looked up at the starry sky and got an idea. "Hey, Jake, can I drive?"

Xxx

"Can I open my eyes now?" Jake whined as I shut off the ignition.

I laughed and replied, "Why yes you can. Guess where we are."

Jacob glanced around and raised his eyebrows at me. "La Push beach? Why are we here?"

I grinned and blinked to the edge of the beach. I turned around and motioned for Jacob to join me. He shook his head at me and sauntered toward me. "What are you up to?"

I took his hand and said, "I just wanted us to have some alone time. We've barely spent any time together over the past week. I wanted to go the dance, but once we got there, all I could think about was being with you. Alone. This seemed like the best way to get it."

Jacob grinned at me and pulled my lips to his. The kiss was passionate and intense and I felt my insides melt. Even after everything that had happened this past month, I knew that returning to Forks was the best decision I ever made.

I was finally happy with my life. I had a great dad, awesome friends who were close enough to call my family, and a wonderful boyfriend whom I loved. If I never came back, I would've always wondered what I missed out on.

As I gasped for breath, Jacob stroked my cheek and said, "I love you, Keri."

I kissed him again and whispered, "I love you, too."

**THE END**


	11. Author's Note: Reboot

**AN: **_**I am rebooting this series. Since the final film comes out in November, I wanted to start at the beginning with Twilight. So look out for Confessions of an Unknown: Twilight, Followed by New Moon/Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. I also plan on continuing the series after BD, too. Thanks!**_

_**-jaa162**_


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